Why Do You FIRST?

[Brandon Zalinsky]

It used to seem like a simple question to me: "Why do you FIRST?"
Through my middle school and high school, it was about learning and helping my team succeed. I didn't realize until volunteering after high school what the actual affect this program has on students from all walks of life.

I'd like to share an experience with you guys. At the Dalton District Event, I was scheduled to start the weekend as a robot inspector and transfer over to MC before opening ceremonies. One of the first teams I inspected was Team 4195, Genesis. They are a lower-budget team from Rome, Georgia, with a pretty nice machine for their resources. From the start, they ran into inspection issues, from bumpers and frame perimeter violations to pneumatics and conneciton issues. Keep in mind, this is a team working out of a Boys and Girls Club- they could hardly dream of most of the resources many teams and students take for granted. I was deeply impressed from the very beginning of speaking with them how attentive and helpful their students were. Every student genuinely cared about the achievement of their goals.

As practice night wore on, their pit was a swarm of students and mentors, as well as orange and yellow hats, all working together to get this little engine that could working. They finally were fully inspected right before their first match on Day 1. I had never seen a team so committed.

Fast forward to the finals, and I got the privilege to introduce, you guessed it, 4195. They were the second pick of the third seed alliance. The looks on their drive team's faces- in that moment- made me realize why I "do FIRST." It's to make moments like that happen for those kids. I had seen this team crawl from the depths of despair to playing for the event win. I knew that no student on that team would ever forget that event.

I think, in our rush to label the "best", "fastest", or "coolest", we lose sight of what's really important in this program. To me, now, it's not about the 118s and the 2056s. It's about the 4195s. It's about giving a chance in STEM, and in life, to the students who otherwise would have never been given one. I guess, after many years, I finally learned what true "Inspiration" is.

So, what about you? Why do you do FIRST?

[EricH]

I think it's a bit of the same thing you're doing it for.

--The team members who come out of their shell, learn something new, and spend the hours in the shop--and who grow.
--I've seen the thrill of victory--small and large--and the agony of defeat--small and large. I was there, about 10 years ago. I'm still there, in a different way. As a volunteer, they're all my teams, and yet none of them are my teams. Watching old friends and new get the announcement of a trip to Champs--especially when they didn't expect it--is incredible. And watching teams take those "oh, SO CLOSE" moments and use them for motivation, even better.
--It's like a family out here. Sure, we're all competitors (or officials). But when the going gets tough, there's always another team pulling in to help. And when the going is easy? That team is usually the team giving help.

And the other thing that doesn't hit you for a while is the networks these kids are developing. Think about this one: If it wasn't for working with other teams, there's a good chance I wouldn't be working in the job I'm in now. When these students graduate college, they will already be known in industry--their mentors and other network folks will make sure of that.

Funny little incident: I was actually approached today, before practice matches got going. A team was thanking me for helping them at the local scrimmage. I don't remember the help given (I was helping every team that needed it, on robot rules or on gameplay), but they do. My hope is that they use that to do well this weekend. It's not about what we, as volunteers do. It's about what the teams and students do with the help we give the.

A lot of times, you don't really catch those moments without being "behind the scenes" or "in the trenches". The volunteers that are there--moments like those keep us coming back, year after year.

[Anupam Goli]

Because it's fun.

[Akash Rastogi]

Because I need to constantly boost my ego and have to be validated somehow.

[Road Rash]

Originally Posted by EricH

And the other thing that doesn't hit you for a while is the networks these kids are developing. Think about this one: If it wasn't for working with other teams, there's a good chance I wouldn't be working in the job I'm in now. When these students graduate college, they will already be known in industry--their mentors and other network folks will make sure of that.

In the short time I've been aware of FIRST since my son became involved as a freshman this year, I'm convinced that this program will only help him in the future. For the reason quoted above, and because I believe FIRST is cleverly modeled in a way to train these students to navigate the constantly evolving nature of a modern work environment.

Earlier this week, I tossed my hat in the ring to become a Mentor for 5586 after the Wisconsin Regional. I have no engineering skills to offer the kids (unless outhouse engineering counts), but I do have nearly 30 years experience working in the plastics industry. I know I have skills to offer the team that will only help this second-year team.

1. I can help them develop a good safety program. They could really use the help here.
2. Develop standard operating procedures for the team and train them to the standard. Maybe even an operations manual specific to the team if they don't already have one.
3. Introduce the team to some LEAN Manufacturing concepts that translate well to a robotics shop in an effort to eliminate waste. One look at the way they have it set up currently at Kiel High, I immediately wondered how much time is wasted looking for tools. Time is a valuable resource when you only have 6 weeks to get a viable robot up and running. I forsee massive gains in efficiency here if we organize the space and workflow wisely.

5586 is a team with a Mentorship team that skews very young. Their lead Mentor Jake is a 25-year-old mechanical engineer. The others, aside from a couple of exceptions, aren't much older than that. I'm impressed with all of them. That being said, they don't think like parents so I can help them with that aspect. Better communication with the parents would be a step in the right direction.

Being young, they are more inclined to use social media and search engines instead of dedicated forums for information. I have 15 years experience navigating various forums for the information I need. This place is a treasure trove of great information and I see very few from the team here. I need to fix that for that reason plus the all the networking potential that is here (see quote above).

tl;dr: Robots are awesome!

[GreyingJay]

I would have loved this program when I was younger. I was that kid that filled notebooks with sketches and schematics of robots that I wanted to build when I was 12. Looking back, none of what I sketched was viable, but that didn't stop me from imagining.

I was never into athletics. Most school activities were structured around that. You like basketball? Join the team! Volleyball? Join the team! You like robots and electronics and computers? Uh.... there's a chess club...?

Over the years I've developed a career in software engineering and on the side I do volunteer work with various youth organizations including my church and a summer camp that I got involved with. I seem to be naturally good at working with teenagers (maybe cause I'm still just a big kid myself ) So when I discovered FIRST it seemed like a natural confluence of everything I'm good at.

(And a few things I'm not. But hey, mentors get to learn too.)

[techhelpbb]

Cause 'Second' is not available yet?
Cause sometimes when you go FIRST you can do better the Second time .

[Teched3]

I do FIRST because not enough is being done during regular school programs to inspire students who someday will be game changers. In addition, I wanted to give back in some meaningful way to say thanks to all those adults that gave to me. 21 years in FIRST, still inspired, and God willing, still counting.

[plnyyanks]

Brandon and Eric hit the nail on the head as to why I've stayed involved.

Originally Posted by EricH

A lot of times, you don't really catch those moments without being "behind the scenes" or "in the trenches". The volunteers that are there--moments like those keep us coming back, year after year.

It's not always about the big showy things, but a smile or a cheer when a robot does something well or a simple thank you when you help someone connect their robot to the field. At the end of the day, I'm not in it for me, but to help inspire other kids to have fun and pursue STEM by giving back to a program that's been so good to me.

[Hot_Copper_Frog]

I “FIRST” because FIRST is the reason that I graduated from high school and have a career. I had a very troubled home life and found refuge in FLL, and then FRC. My mentors and team-mates became my second family, and helped me explore my potential and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. They encouraged me, taught me a lot of really useful skills, boosted my confidence, and inspired me (especially my ambitious female mentors - I'm looking at you Mrs. Gleason, Mrs. Nader and Gina!). I went from failing most of my classes to taking four AP’s my senior year and graduating with a full semester of college credit. I was able to pursue an awesome degree in environmental science and now work at a great engineering company.

This program made such an impact on my life – and I committed to giving that opportunity back to others. I love my day job, but my true passion is working with my students. There is nothing more rewarding than watching them learn, discover, and grow. If I can make a difference in just one kid’s life, that makes all of the late nights and exhaustion and stress worth it. I have a little shoe box that I keep notes and thank you cards in from students that I’ve worked with over the years…if I get frustrated or down I take a glance at them and remember why I do this.

I don’t think I’ll ever give up on FIRST, because FIRST never gave up on me.

[pmallikarjun]

I "FIRST" because, like many others, I found a second family in my FRC team in high school and joining the team helped me gain self-confidence. I want to give that opportunity back to current students.

When I was a freshman, my head coach, Mr. Smith, believed in me. He encouraged me to voice my ideas at team meetings and helped me find the voice to do so. I went from being a really shy student sitting in the back of the room to the student that gave our team's Chairman's presentation, talked to other teams regularly at regionals, and eventually became a team leader. This shaped my future and gave me the confidence I have today to mentor FRC teams, lead a collegiate robotics group, and even just speak up and participate in my classes.

FIRST taught more than just some engineering and programming skills, FIRST taught me what it means to believe in someone and stick up for them and how to help others succeed. Nowadays, no matter what activity or organization I'm involved in (including mentoring FRC teams and volunteering at events), I try my best to help those students who seem shy and hesitant find their voice on their team because I remember being that student.

[Alex Cormier]

Very plain and simple. So my students have a better career and life then mine.

[GeeTwo]

I've always been a project-oriented person, and I particularly enjoy powered and later computer-operated projects. I inherited this passion from my father (K5AJK (SK)) and passed it on to my son (Gixxy), and he started 3946 during the summer between his sophomore and junior years at Slidell High so as to have an outlet. I didn't formally mentor the first season, but I started showing up earlier and earlier to pick him up and staying later and later discussing design and controls strategy. I went to Bayou on Thursday and was hooked. (I would have been there all three days but for a family situation.)

The next year, I started mentoring for real, mostly because doing group projects in which the group doing the work made the real design decisions was fun. Within a few more months, I had come to recognize FRC mentorship as a way to teach in a relatively unstructured environment. (cue flashback music and sepia lighting)

Right after earning my master's degree in physics, I spent a year as a college physics instructor. The first semester was great! I got to pass on some of the stuff I'd been learning the past few years, trying to emulate my best teachers and avoiding the mistakes of my worst. I became totally comfortable delivering a lecture/brief, a skill I exercise regularly in my current job. I discovered the joy of teaching (which I understand that I inherited from my father, who was always teaching electronics and ham radio, among other things). The second semester was not so great - I had to teach the SAME stuff all over again (sure, to a different group of people). I recognized that teaching (or any sort of production work) would not be as fulfilling a career choice as project-based development. (return to main sequence music and white lights)

These days, I justify my significant investment of time (and a fair amount of money in the form of straight-up donations and "lost" receipts) through the mission of FIRST - to inspire, recognize, and prepare young people for careers in STEM and entrepreneurship. When I am honest with myself, I know that I do it because mentorship is personally rewarding and working through the design/build process in a team setting is fun. Where else can I scratch all three itches at once?