Incorporating Alumni within FRC Teams

[TDav540]

Originally Posted by BMSOTM

As a college freshman mentor for two FRC teams (2791 in person and 1257 long-distance), I don't agree with this as a hard-and-fast rule. I finished my first semester at RPI with a 3.8 and am slated to get straight As this semester. My goal isn't to brag, it's to establish that many college freshmen can pull off the balance of being a mentor. I am one of three college freshmen mentoring 2791. To my knowledge, we are all doing fine in our classes, because we realize that school always comes first and that it's okay to take time off from FIRST.


I think the key advice here is to urge freshmen to seriously consider whether or not they have the time management skills to balance the work. Rising college students, I urge you to seriously consider your decision. I happen to have a lot of maturity when it comes to time management. It can be hard to pull back from FRC when you need to, but if you have any doubt in your ability to do so, do not mentor your freshman year.

Likewise, I finished off my first semester at Tech with a 3.8. However, this semester made me realize that I over-committed at Tech. I was doing Formula Electric, Club Roller Hockey, and mentoring 1648, in addition to trying to do well in class and finding a co-op. With that in mind, I have a few thoughts on it.

I agree with the fundamental idea of taking time off from FIRST; there are a lot of things out there that are awesome and new. Every student should explore things outside of FIRST before coming back to the program. FRC (and other robotics programs) aren't going anywhere, they'll still be here in four, five, six plus years. But I think the most important thing is learning how much you can do in college and still do everything well/at a high level. If FRC is part of figuring that out, then by all means, allow it to be so. FRC can be a passion

These fundamentals are always true:
1. School comes first, in every situation
2. Explore things other than FRC before deciding to mentor
3. Understand what you can and cannot do with your time

[Hot_Copper_Frog]

I've participated and been involved with teams that span the spectrum on this issue, from almost no young mentor involvement, to a middle ground, to entirely run by college students.

Currently, we employ a "Mentor Lite" system for young alumni that would like to return and mentor because they are attending college locally. If you are Mentor Lite, you may not drive or solely chaperone students, or act as a lead mentor for a sub-group. They work under the lead mentors for any given sub-group and act in a supporting role while they learn how to bridge the gap between student and mentor, which is hard to do. We generally discourage alumni from coming back their freshman year as FRC mentors, but utilize them heavily in the FLL and FTC programs that we run. We also encourage them to explore other teams and volunteer roles within FIRST.

Mentor Lite is promoted to regular mentor status when they've graduated from their program of choice (not necessarily a 4-year degree), have transitioned to adult life, and all the the students that they went to school with have graduated.

[LeelandS]

Something I've given 1405 a lot of credit for since I joined is it's ability to build it's own mentors. As a small team, about 1/4 of our total mentorship is made up of alumni, if you count myself and Alex Cormier, who are FIRST alumni, but not one of 1405. As far as college mentors go (of which Alex is not one), most of our college-alumni are full-time during breaks or when available, but part-time whenever they are non-essential, especially during down-time like now, while we're waiting for Champs.

1405's alumni generally have taken fairly prominent roles on the team, comprising two of our mechanical mentors, our lead software mentor, and most of our strategy/scouting effort, as well as our team's primary photo/videographer.

In my opinion, if a student is inspired by the program enough to want to remain involved, far be it from a team to deny them. It's kind of a beautiful cycle, isn't it? Inspired kids come back to inspire more kids. Who will hopefully in turn inspire more. Seems like it's within the realm of FIRST's goal to me.

[Kevin Leonard]

This is an interesting topic, especially currently being a college student mentor.

5254's success in the past three seasons would not have been possible without the mentorship of FIRST alumni. 5254's drive coach for the past three years has been a 1676 alumni, and I joined them this past year as well.

It's hard for a young team to know how to actually compete in FRC, no matter how smart the students and mentors involved are, and alumni can provide that knowledge.

Not just robot design, but also picklisting, scouting, and connections within FIRST to help you get places can be daunting for a young team, while these are commonplace for me and other alumni.

That being said- as a college student, school has to come first, and especially being in a curriculum like Mechanical Engineering at RIT, I have to prioritize well and manage my time effectively.

[Conor Ryan]

Originally Posted by Jessica Boucher

Totally agree. I mean, I'd love to have all college freshmen and sophomores just volunteer instead, but that's just me

Originally Posted by TDav540

Likewise, I finished off my first semester at Tech with a 3.8. However, this semester made me realize that I over-committed at Tech. I was doing Formula Electric, Club Roller Hockey, and mentoring 1648, in addition to trying to do well in class and finding a co-op. With that in mind, I have a few thoughts on it.

Trevor - I would totally recommend volunteering over mentoring given the position were in. You stay involved with FIRST and give back, plus you have plenty of time to focus on school.

Likewise goes for all of you recently graduated, now pursuing the dream High School alums.