Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneYoung
What does the Team Spirit Award mean to you and to your team? Is it valued? Is it important? How does that impact the team experience? Why do you think FIRST would have a Team Spirit Award? (Please share photos if you would like... not huge photos, reasonably-sized photos.)
Yup, a lot of questions. 
Jane |
There is so much to be said about spirit on Team Paragon. In 2004 our team motto became Spiritworks, and it stuck. On the team, spirit serves as a hook. Students see the good time members are having and think it can be a fun place to be. Many students are originally brought in because of their spirit, and then extend their minds to other areas of the team, giving them the technical experience that FIRST is known for. We pride ourselves on a highly spirited team, and devote a lot of time to perfecting our costumes and creating cheers and whatnot. I feel like students need to be given a purpose at a competition, or else they will get bored. Since not many students can be in the pits at once, the rest are left in the stands. We make the most of our time by throwing a mini party
It's a great way to get students to come out of their shells and just have a good time. FIRST is all about making engineering fun, and growing yourself as a person, and that's what the Team Spirit Award pushes students to do. I personally am going into my second year being spirit captain, and my fourth in spirit leadership. I always have a blast when I'm doing it, and my competative edge makes me just a bit louder. In the community, my teammates and I always call attention to the team by breaking out in cheers, or simply wearing our obnoxiously bright shirts. This helps spread the word of FIRST, which isd such an important part of outreach. For me though, the good time makes it worth the effort and the stress of build season. It puts a cushion on the heat of competition.