Sippin' on the haterade

[RogerR]

I figured I should throw my experience out there:

When I was a student on a team, the robot was mostly mentor built.

I don't just mean the mentors did the machining or dangerous work; the mentors (and one in particular) were largely responsible for the strategy, design, and fabrication. Students were able to do basic tasks* and maintenance, but it was mostly mentors making the design decisions. Most students on the team didn't even touch the robot, and many didn't even see it until it was finished.

Despite what some in the CD community might think, we were inspired. My team-mates were always excited about robotics season; the last year I was on it, we had over 80 members. The year I graduated, 100% of the seniors went to college, where the majority studied engineering (Granted, some of us have strayed from the path and become teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc...). Several of us have gone on to start our own successful teams.

I know that we all have different measures of "success", but I think that this team was successful.