[Freddy Schurr]

3 deserving mentors and all we need is your vote to pick our Mentors Unite! Mentor of the Year Winner.

Nomination: Wayne Cokeley
Nominated: Neil J. Parikh

"Wayne Cokeley defines the words 'teacher' and 'mentor' in ways others can only hope to attain. His infectious enthusiasm and incredible dedication sets an example for all FIRST mentors to emulate."-Rich Kressly, FIRST Senior Mentor, Mentor of team 1712, and former Mentor of Team 103.

Wayne has continually gone above and beyond his mentoring duties. Even after being hospitalized for a stroke, Wayne fought his way out of the hospital and attended the NJ Regional in 2004 as a vital decision-maker. Wayne has always put forth to the best of his ability, including the need to develop student's abilities in all fields. He has pushed his students to learn aspects of marketing, business, engineering, technology, computer applications, and every other aspect of FIRST.

Throughout his ten years of service, Wayne has taught many members the how-to of various types of engineering. Bharat Nain, current Co-Captain and head programmer, brings up a great example. "My sophomore year, I had little experience in engineering. One of my first questions was quite simple. 'What is a potentiometer (Pot)?' His response, 'Whatever you do on one Pot, the other Pot on the robot will make the same exact motion.' Instead of giving me a complicated reply, he made it a simple process, easy for one to understand."

According to alumnus mentor and former Team Captain "Big Mike" Schroeder, "Wayne has the uncanny ability to find the talent in a student and show them his or her potential." Wayne has brought students from all levels of the high school into a cohesive, family-like unit. Through his many puns and euphemisms, or Cokeleyisms if you will, he has enlightened and quite possibly, tormented many students. His ability to stand by his words is mirrored by his humor. In 2000, he made a bet with the students that if they won National Championships, he would shave his hair off. Just a few days later, he honored his bet on Good Morning America.

David Beck, former WFFA and head mentor of Team 103, Cybersonics, expresses Wayne's dedication and devotion, "He eats and breathes FIRST and redefines 'Gracious Professionalism'. Besides, no one looks finer in a Hawaiian shirt."

Nomination: Jerry Skene
Nominated by: Nate Laverdure

Whether found leaning inquisitively over a robot, enthusiastically explaining the trigonometric relationship of drive wheel placement, or listening to a transmission presentation created by energetic students, this quiet yet impassioned mentor has made an indelible mark on each member of Chantilly Robotics. Throughout his 5 year relationship with Team 612, Mr. Skene has lead countless students to a discovery of not only their technical talents in the field of science and technology, but also to a recognition of our power to make a significant difference in the world.

Mr. Skene is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Institute and holds a Masters degree in applied physics. He has been granted several US and foreign patents and one of his designs is in permanent collection at the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York. He founded Skene Designs, an engineering firm established to create innovative products in the field of transportation. Yet, Mr. Skene views his role as mentor of Chantilly Robotics with equal regard, sacrificing countless hours to guide a team of 40 students from design conception to competition. His subtle yet ardent counsel has facilitated our team's development of internal structure, project management and technological competence. Mr. Skene's guidance has inspired each member of Chantilly Robotics to take creative design risks and to reach beyond the robotics lab to obtain student internships in a variety of engineering disciplines.

While examining the team's proposal for a new drive system, Mr. Skene's encouragement brought esoteric mathematic formulas to life as we evaluated the system's efficacy. He guides us through captivating exploration of programming functions until we discover solutions that create a functioning device. He encourages each team member to build individual strengths while broadening our strengths and talents to meet the needs of the team. No sooner do we develop an understanding of a new concept, when Mr. Skene has us presenting our ideas to a group of engineers at a "brown bag" luncheon or before the camera in a television news segment. Standing at the white board before a group of peers while Mr. Skene looks on has generated a fair share of "ah-ha" moments for most of us.

After reading in the local newspaper about the successes of Chantilly Robotics, a family with a severely disabled infant contacted the team. Rahim was born with shortened limbs that extended inches from his trunk. His mobility was severely limited and the family was in need of a device to provide Rahim with the experiences of early childhood. In his quiet and encouraging way he asked simply, "What would it take?" We jumped to action! We designed a switch activated robotic device in which the child could merely touch a button with the end of his limb to be set in motion. As we presented Rahim's family with the completed product, it was as though we were presenting them with a new future for their young child. In an interview with Washington's Channel 9 news, Mr. Skene said about Rahim's mother, "The view of what her child could grow up to be changed in an instant." I've thought about that statement and I can honestly say that my view of what I could grow up to changed in that instant as well.

Mr. Skene embodies the mission of FIRST in his dream to "create a world where science and technology are celebrated … where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes" (Dean Kamen, 2006). Because of Mr. Skene's dream, students under his tutelage not only dream – they achieve! Mr. Skene is the science and technology hero of Chantilly Robotics!

Nomination: Jeff Rosen
Nominated by: Anastasia Marchenkova

Mr. Jeff Rosen, Team 1002's mentor, has contributed greatly to the CircuitRunners. Through his patience and persistence, the team has grown into a flourishing organization. Balancing a job as a teacher, a mentor for the CircuitRunners, and managing his family and kids is very intense, but Mr. Rosen has succeeded in all aspects of his life, and for that, we recognize him.

We believe Mr. Rosen embodies the spirit of a great mentor. He facilitates, and also demonstrates successful organization and management skills, and is a true role model for the students to follow. During our FIRST build sessions, he drives down to the build site at Georgia Tech many times during the season to offer his expertise, as well as working with the students in design, build, outreach, fundraising, and other aspects of the organization.

Mr. Rosen also is not just a mentor for our team. He helps out with other FIRST teams, and was an announcer in 2006 for the VEX competition at the Peachtree Regional, as well as organizing an FLL tournament at our school, which the CircuitRunners ran and hosted. Spreading FIRST and robotics throughout the county in conjunction with the CircuitRunners makes him a mentor truly worth recognizing.