[Tom Bottiglieri]

Mentoring a FIRST team provides a great opportunity for college students to gain valuable leadership experience, as well as pick up a few more tech skills outside the classroom. While the high school students can use this experience as a sandbox to harness their technical skills, you can use it in the same way to develop your soft skills.

For teams looking for a returning mentor policy, it really needs to be on a case by case basis. One year away from the team is probably a good thing, but not needed in all cases. Maturity is a big deal, as it will dictate to which extent the mentor can fully grasp the ideals of the program and how to implement them correctly.