Congratulations to ETEP, Team 1382, for the Regional and Chairman's win!
I'd like to quote the introduction and conclusion paragraphs of our team's 2007 Chairman's Award essay to let you know how we feel:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Team 383's 2007 Chairman's essay
“These robots are 3-dimensional physical metaphors for things far more important to a child's success”.
- Mike Bastoni, Team #23, former National Chairman's Award Winner
To believe in this thought – passed to us by our mentors from team 23 in our rookie year – and to try to apply it to the team during our trajectory was a fundamental aspect of the work started eight years ago, which culminated with the Boston Regional Chairman's Award. Curiously, several members of this no longer active team attended the regional and witnessed that their pupils had evolved into receiving FIRST's highest honor.
It was an interesting moment because it felt like closing a cycle, finally reaching a status our mentors had when we began, a status that once seemed so distant and that we now had achieved.
(...)
Above all, we think we have been following FIRST's mission and hope that someday the rookies we mentor experience the same feeling that struck us that March's Saturday in Boston – seeing their old mentors proud of what they had accomplished and finally “getting it”.
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You guys at 1382 have made us proud!
Team 383 thanks all teams that made this exciting event, in special teams 1603 and 2266 for our finalist alliance - we did what we could, competing hard and fairly.
Congratulations to team 2244 for their Engineering Inspiration award - that's a bunch of people that gets FIRST since the team's inception and are well on their way for a future Chairman's award - make us proud again!
Of special note, I'd like to thank my students at 383. This year's group is fantastic, your work during the build season and especially in the regional was superb and I don't have words to describe how special you all are.
In the last match of the competition, Final 2, with our alliance in need of a win to pull a third match, the
opposing alliance managed to put a keeper in autonomous after many close misses. The three students with me on the field, Gabriel, Roberta and Mari immediately started to applaud them for their effort.
In the heat of the battle I didn't realize they had done it and was only told after competition was over. I never got the chance to thank them. Knowing my students had such a spontaneous behavior with an opponent's success, even if it meant we would lose the regional, made my day - you guys are gracious professionals definition. It was by far my best moment in all eight years on FIRST. If asked, I would trade a National Chairman's Award win for having that moment again - without even blinking.
A sincere thanks to all.