2001: Joined Team 341 in the Post-Season. Honestly can't remember what I did on the team at first - mostly odd jobs while I learned.
2002: Team webmaster and designed our multimedia CD-ROM (remember those?). Miscellaneous odd jobs, too. Had an interest in programming that began to blossom, especially in the following off-season.
2003: Senior year of high school. Head of programming and electrical subteams. Wrote our Chairman's Award essay (the first time we won at a Regional!). Human player.
2004: Freshman year at college (RIT). Only loosely involved with Team 341 during build/competition season. Worked briefly with local teams 73/340 mentored by RIT, but in general I took the year off to focus on my studies. Got more involved with 341 as a college mentor during the summer and offseason events.
2005: Began full-time mentoring of 341 from afar. Focused on electrical/programming aspects. I would make the round trip drive from Rochester to Ambler, PA (about 341 miles
) 5 times during build season, plus the actual competitions.
2006: This time, I planned ahead and got a co-op in the Philadelphia area during the winter so I could mentor full time. Still mostly an electrical/programming mentor, but I began expanding into overall machine design and strategy.
2007: As 2006, but this time from afar again. 4 more round trips, plus competitions.
2008: Even more involved as a mechanical/game strategy mentor (plus electrical...plus programming). I began doing CAD and physics simulations in Rochester and spending more than an hour a night communicating with the rest of the team down in Ambler. 5 round trips.
2009: After graduating college, I got a job in the Philadelphia area, so once again I could be there on a daily basis. I focused primarily on overall machine design mentorship (by this time one of our seniors was an expert with electronics and programming and he hardly needed me anymore!)
2010: Still there on a daily basis. I'm all over the map by now.
....
And that is how a geeky kid who wanted to make a website became a professional engineer who now mentors in all aspects of design and construction.