[GaryVoshol]

Many of the posts here have, in my opinion, not been descriptions of mentors but rather of helpful alumni. I've had experience with several of them over the years, and their help is generally well received. What doesn't work well is when they start to think they have decision-making authority. I can think of incidents that caused hard feelings, and sometimes wasted work or materials.

We need to go back to think of what the role of a mentor is for an FRC team. We have two basic types, engineering mentors (EM) and non-engineering mentors (NEM). The NEM's take care of things like team organization, school/community relations, travel, expenses, etc. The EM's have the responsibility to teach engineering principles to team members.

Any recent alumnus who returns to work with the team needs to be evaluated as to whether he or she fits into either the EM or NEM role. In most cases, they do not, simply because they do not have enough experience. There are teams that are essentially run by college mentors, in the true mentor sense, so that model of a team can work. But for most teams, alumni should be content with being in the position of supporting alumni. Help on work days from time to time - don't design the work to be done, but lend a helping hand to hold parts as the students work on them, and make sure safety procedures are being followed. Be there to support the team at things like kickoff, competition, and off-season events. But recognize that your role is now somewhere in between - no longer a student, but not yet a mentor. And please be sure that everything is in balance - your schoolwork, your extra-curriculars, your life outside school - with anything you do with the FRC team.