[Tim Delles]

Just thought I'd chip in my 2 cents as I was inspired by my mentors.

I started my FIRST career as a member of team 229 back in 2001. When I first joined the team I thought the program was a great program for me because it would allow me to see what engineers actually do. Well the first couple of years i wasn't inspired, and then in 2004 after a 'year of learning', our team won a regional. That moment in time, was one of the most inspiring moments in my FIRST career so far.

Why was it so inspiring?

Well we aimed to win, and we did win. But that was not the major reason. The major reason it was so inspiring for me and some of my friends on the team was that we had accomplished our goals that FIRST gave us. We had not only won that year, but we were inspired by our mentors. We were inspired because a robot that we had jointly made with our college mentors had won our very first regional. How can someone not be inspired by what they make winning?

Then in 2005, the high school students were inspired by us finishing in the finals at both of our regionals. I had been inspired by my mentors to become an engineer, because I was able to work with them on the whole robot. Everything from designing it to building it, the high school students were their.

So I would have to say that students are inspired no matter how they place, however winning can add to the inspiration you give to the high school students.