[smurfgirl]

I joined FIRST not really knowing what I was in for, but I knew that I liked math and science, so it sounded like it would be cool. That's the very, very short version of my story. I wrote a bit of it out for my team when they asked current team members and alumni about our experiences on the team for a bit of inspiration for our Chairman's presentation binder. I'll post it below, because I think it relates a lot to this thread, but keep in mind it was written for people who know me, so some of the quips and anecdotes make a little bit more sense to them. I'd still like to share my story with all of you, though.

I'm also very willing to help by telling a part of my story... but I am fully capable of writing a full-length novel about my experiences in FIRST and what I have gotten out of it, so it was very difficult to keep it this short; brief just really doesn't happen with me. Brief is one thing I have never been. On the other hand, there are a lot of things I am now that I have grown to be because of how FIRST has shaped me.



My story begins in mid-October my freshman year. We start here because it is my humble beginnings in the program which made the greatest impact on me. I heard an announcement about a robotics team going to this thing called "Bash at the Beach"... images of robots on platforms surrounded by hot sand swirled through my head. I was intrigued, and I thought it sounded really cool. I want to do that, I thought to myself. But alas, school had started a month and a half ago, and I was far too timid to consider joining any clubs this late into the year (little did I know that the FRC season begins in January). Ultimately, I ended up ignoring the announcement that has piqued my interest in robotics, because my timidness won the battle. Yes, that's right, I was timid. I'm guessing those of you who know me now wouldn't pick timid as the first word to describe me. That's thanks to my experiences with FIRST. I didn't forget that announcement- at the beginning of sophomore year, I sought after the robotics team right away. I wanted to know what it was about. Despite it overlapping with my dance classes, I joined the team, and ended up participating in Avon Day just two days later. It was overwhelming... this giant robot that could stretch up to at least three times my height, built in six weeks by a bunch of high school kids? When I found that out, I began doubting whether robotics was really for me. I didn't think I was smart enough or clever enough for it. There was no way I could ever build a robot from scratch, let alone in six weeks. Seriously, who are you kidding, I was no MIT engineer back then. Yes, confidence is also something I was lacking, but robotics helped me to build.

In retrospect, I'm so glad I stuck with it for a few more meetings. In just a few short weeks, we went to Bash @ the Beach. I can remember going into AHS at 5 am, because they had to pack still. Essentially, the plan was to walk into the room and throw everything in sight into a bunch of plastic crates. I couldn't let it happen that way, and put the supplies into boxes by categories, and packed it in nicely. I think I carried 80% of the boxes out to the bus, as well. I think that's when the robotics team decided they wanted me to stick around. I wasn't quite sure yet. We showed up to the competition, and much to my surprise there was no sand, at all. It was inside a school gym, but this was not what a gym ordinarily felt like. You could feel the excitement in the air, or perhaps it was just the booming music in the background, the tune to which hundreds of high school students (the kind you don't normally see in the gym) were running around with more robots, about a giant field in the middle full of PVC tetrahedrons, and dozens 10x10 pits set up around the perimeter. I think that's the moment I fell in love with FIRST. I could tell it fit, and this is where I wanted to be, even though I pretty much had no idea what was going on. That's when another magic moment happened- Mr. Kasner asked if anyone would be interested in going on "the field". I gathered up just enough courage to ask about what the different positions were, and I decided coach and human player sounded reasonably interesting. I took a leap of faith and signed myself up. Keith handed me "The Game" section of the manual, and I read through it, trying to picture what a match would look like.

Coaching my first match was an interesting experience. I was standing behind two students who were both older than me, people that I did not know at all... telling them what to do, when I had only discovered what a competition was, and how the game was played five minutes ago. Talk about scary. And did I mention, I was the only girl with the team at the competition? I was outnumbered in every sense. Amazingly, I had actually caught on to some of the strategy, and we won both of the matches I coached. It was exhilarating. Later on in the day, a news reporter came up to me with a tape recorder, asking if he could interview me about the team. I tried to pass him off to another student, insisting I had just joined the team and couldn't help him out, but he told me it was ok, he wanted to talk to me. It made me realize how much I had absorbed over the course of the day- I described the game to him, I knew we were defending champions, that the team name was ÜberBots, we were sponsored by UTC Chubb, and the robot was affectionately named the ChubbBot. This day alone shaped me a lot.

Because of this, I stuck with robotics, helping with various projects, including reorganizing the room, until the new season began. I started to form bonds with people who would become some of my best friends. I learned lessons about engineering and life from the mentors. By the time the 2006 season had begun, I think our team had worked a large part of its magic on me. I was willing to talk to adults (who were very, very scary just a few months before), had opened myself up to new friendships, had gained confidence in myself, and had put myself to work as a leader and innovator in organization. I felt like I really had a part in everything. After Kickoff, I devoured the rules. Coaching in the off-season had shown me how much I love the strategy behind everything. I'm not sure if memorizing the manual gives anyone more joy than I. It felt right when I essentially began to live in the shop after Kickoff. The team was really my new family (hence why it's not just about building a robot, it's about building a team). This is one of the many reasons I love the ÜberBots so much- it is like a giant support network of people who know you and love you, and have a variety of skills- everyone is there to help you with everything.

By May 2006, when we had returned from Atlanta, I had enough confidence and inspiration that I was ready to organize and pioneer my own event- the premiere of the robodemo. Demonstrations are one of the things that have brought me the most happiness out of all of my experiences on team 1124. Watching the faces of an audience full of children as you demonstrate your robot is probably the greatest feeling in the world. You look at their eyes light up, their glowing smiles, and you realize that perhaps you have just inspired them to do something great. You just might have made a difference in their lives. Nothing feels better than passing on the inspiration that you know you have felt already. This is what I did with a lot of the rest of my time on the team. When people say your second year in FIRST is your first year as a mentor, it's absolutely true. I spent good parts of the 2007 and 2008 seasons passing on lessons I had learned to other students, as well as helping develop new community outreach programs to promote the visions of the ÜberBots and FIRST. Even with what I had already gotten out of the program, I continued to recognize more instances of my own inspiration and growth, which I shall withhold for reasons of space. The truly magical thing, though, was watching everyone else grow up around me- the new students, and those I had already been around for a year or two, younger siblings who hung around, children who had been to demonstrations and came to other events to see more of us.

I owe a lot to the ÜberBots, and to FIRST Robotics as a whole, for helping me to find myself, to develop my character, to expand upon my values, to give me new abilities, and to show me the power of technology, and of inspiration. It is because of my experiences on the robotics team that I am who I am today, and that I am where I am today. Our robotics team is incredibly valuable, and has made as much of a difference to many other people as it has to me. My hope is that it will continue to flourish, spreading its influence and its impact further throughout our community. The reason why I am still here, despite having graduated from high school in June, is because of this. I may still be young, perhaps even still naive in a sense, but I do know one thing for sure- I want to share the inspiration I have seen with others.

Thank you, ÜberBots, for being there for me. I will be here for you for a very long time.