[Alex Golec]

Some may say that in order to teach, the students must first be willing to learn. Others might say, that in order to teach, one must inspire the students to learn. I believe FIRST follows the latter - Inspiring students to learn.

I am a college freshman mentor. I declined almost everyone's advice on the ChiefDelphi forums about waiting a year to mentor, and I am have not regretted the decision - but, bear in mind, that I work cooperatively with 3 other college students.

Having transitioned from student to mentor, I have come to learn one thing - it's not your robot anymore. It's theirs. This program is about the students learning - and if you can find a way to promote that in your program, by all means do so.

Now that I have come through over half of my first FIRST season as a mentor, I have learned that the choices a mentor makes are tougher than I had ever imagined, all of which have helped to define a fundamental principle:

Student Inspiration Surpasses Award Aspirations

That was not what I had in mind when I joined. Honestly, I hoped for a group of "perfect" students in which the mentor role was minimalized and we could focus on winning game objectives. From what I understand, this is what an application process has the potential to do - draw in motivated students. However, that clashes my interpretation of the teaching philosophy because it can turn away the interested, yet shy potential of many younger students.

I joined this program because I saw an awesome looking robot and a bunch of odd parts on a table. I lagged in the program, did a minimal amount of work, until 4 days before ship date, when something in me "clicked" and spent those 4 whole days in the machine shop working my butt off.

In retrospect, the "click" was not miraculous - but rather generated by the gentle encouragement of my mentors. Dan mumbled stuff about rollers needing a few more parts to function, Ed showed me how to mill and drill a what-now-seems-so-simple part, Gail complemented that part and suggested that I do more for that system, and the cycle continued.

It is NEVER to Late to be Inspired

Because of the events of my freshman year, I hold dear to this philosophy in all aspects of my teaching,learning and life. Every curious student deserves an opportunity to join a team, and find what inspires them.

Hence, I respectfully disagree with your proposal, but encourage you to continue with FIRST - provided that it does not hinder your education - and your role as a mentor. However, as many have said here, do find some friends to share the burden and the benefits with you. With a couple more mentors worth of organization, you should be able to take on all the students that come your way.

Good luck and best wishes,

-Alex Golec

And in case you're still looking for numerical data, 469 has never had an application and has had about 24, 30, 16, 24, and 24 students in the last 5 years. 830 also has never had an application and has had about 30 students in each of the last two years.