1) My best friend's sisters were involved on Team #93, so when I got to high school I decided to join and see what it was all about! I remember the oldest sister used to be my babysitter ... she came over one day, when I was in 5th grade, and was talking about this robot she was building at school, and how it's name was TOBOR ("which is robot spelled backwards, see?!") - she was so excited.
2) I was a high school student on Team #93 from 2001-2004, and I now mentor Team #857 (from 2006-2009, hopefully).
3) I applied to MSOE, UW-Platteville, UW-Stout, UW-Fox Valley, UW-Waukesha, Purdue, and Michigan Tech. I was accepted to all of them and went to UW-Waukesha for a semester. Then MTU offered me the Academic Excellence Award (in state tuition) so I've been going to school there, ever since.
4) Nope; it's just not for me (and I'm terrible at math)! Originally, I was going for Wildlife Management, but after mentoring my FIRST team in college, I thought, "Working with high school kids is awesome!! I want to do this all that time! Hey - maybe I should be a teacher!!" So English Education (with a minor in Earth Science) it is.
5) I think women - and men, for that matter - should pursue the career of their choice, whether that be women in engineering or men in fashion design! Forget what the statistics say, and what's "typical" for each gender - go for what you want!