How the WPI/MassAcademy team works is a common question.. so here's a little background and info for everyone.
WPI is WPI. 4-year techie school w/ everything from mech and elect engineers, management info systems, system dynamics(!), comp sci, anything and everything slightly technical (and even not)
The Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science is a 2-year public high school for students in the state of Massachusetts. Students apply and take tests to get in and attend for the their junior and senior years of high school. I think there are somewhere between 50-100 students per class (jr/sr. not sure though.. know it's more than 50 and less than 100.. so that's why the range is there). What's special about our kiddies is that they spend their junior taking classes at the Academy and then their senior year as 'freshman' at WPI. The take classes like and with us WPI students and then do a senior project for the Mass Academy.
Our only 'non-student' team member is Ken. He's our faculty advisor and pretty much runs the team on the whole. A couple MassAcad teachers give a hand here and there as well...
The mentors = WPI students
the 'students' = Mass Academy juniors/seniors (and some Doherty HS folks)
So the main positions like Ops, Controls, Mech, Support are held by the 'mentors' and there will be a 'student' assigned as their co-leader. Some of the positions on the support side of the heirarchy are held by 'students' though.
That's it- maybe a bit more than anyone wanted, but oh well!
We find it helps the team run smoothly and give the WPI students especially some exposure of running projects and structures etc that you will find in the work place, among other things