[hopkins]

We have seven girls and fourteen guys on our team. I am the captain and driver of our team so obviously gender didn't get in my way. I guess our team either doesn't discriminate or i didn't care if they did. I might have helped that one of our mentors is a woman engineer. Everyone has had to prove their worth whether girl or boy. Everyone is taught about any area that they want to learn (build, chairmans, electrical etc.) and then they usually find their niche. Our girls are working in every part of our team even though there are few of them.

I think if a girl wants to have a role on a team they just have to show that they want to learn and they have to be determined and dedicated. When i started out in FIRST in FLL, back in 4th grade, it was girls team against boys team in my school. We took a lot of teasing, ignored it, and ended up winning a design award, and they went home with nothing. That shut them up and gave us confidence. I think that girls need to realize that they need to stand their ground sometimes, its obviously going to be hard. No one is going to hand responsibility to you unless you prove yourself, girl or boy.