Question of the Week!!! (7/19/04)

[MissInformation]

Every student and mentor on our team has left an imprint, however, the person who had the biggest impact on me from the 2004 season is a young kid whose name I don't even know. (here's a picture of him ) He was a student on a FIRST Lego team and I met him at the tournament our team helped out with. I believe he was either a 5th grader or a 6th grader, but while other kids his age admired our robot and asked the usual "Battle Bots" questions and joked with their friends about what they would do with a robot like ours, he quietly examined every single part of the robot, occasionally looking up to ask me a question about specific parts... sometimes they were questions I couldn't answer. He watched every video we had playing twice! Whenever his team had to compete, they had to come and drag him away. Whenever his team finished a match, he came right back. After a while, he sat on the floor with me and we talked "robotics". He had watched the 2003 Championships on the NASA channel and was eager to discuss the game. Finally, keeping my fingers crossed but dreading the answer, I asked him what high school he was zoned for. I could have cried when he said "South Lakes". South Lakes is where the Herndon team started, and while I'm not 100% sure why they left, I've heard it was messy. At the end of the day, he brought his family by to see our robot. I gave him and his family my e-mail address and an invite to visit our team during the build season. I also gave him some contact information for a local team consisting of home schooled students and students from schools that do not have teams. He still has a few years of middle school before high school, so maybe things will change, maybe his family will move and he'll go to a school that has a team. Or maybe South Lakes will change their mind... Or his parents will let me adopt him (okay, so that's not going to happen, but still...)

I left the tournament a little broken-hearted over his situation, but I also left with a wonderful feeling that "this" is what outreach is all about. And as corny as it may sound, it made me feel a connection to FIRST that I hadn't felt before because to me (and to way too many other people, I'm sure) FIRST was always about "my team". It's not anymore. Don't get me wrong, I am still completely dedicated to my team, but when I go to competitions now, I'm cheering for everyone.

Heidi

[Amanda Morrison]

<shameless plug> All of you have great essays written here! You should nominate these for the Unsung FIRST Hero Award!
</shameless plug>

I'd say that the person whom left the biggest mark would be Brandon Martus (big surprise). His dedication to the behind-the-server world of FIRST is amazing. His time put into these forums is incredible. Brandon also runs other recreational sites and whatnot, but he always helps out FIRST in whatever little ways he can. Even when this crazy roadtripping Indiana-er called him up to go to Canada's Wonderland, of all places, he agreed. My parents are a little skeptical about me going on roadtrips by myself, so Brandon has been my roadtripping buddy for competitions all over the midwest, including the Detroit and Midwest Regional. He provoked me after going to the first Michigan Team Forum to come back up the very next day for another... and let me crash on his couch. I drove back down to Indiana the next day for work. We've hung out at regionals (Midwest, Detroit), off-seasons (Canada's Wonderland, IRI), and even in Atlanta. Brandon has been my FIRST buddy through and through.

[skrussel]

Sorry, but I'm going to 'break the rule' of 1 person, and mention 2! Sorry

First, My team co-captain, Jeff Babbie. His role included programming the robot. Great kid, did a fantastic job programming the robot, works really well with everyone on the team. Is generous, supportive and totally reliable. Shows up for every event, does everything asked of him, whether it's a menial task or not. Comes early, stays late. Great sense of humor.
Kids like him are why I mentor a FIRST team every year.

Second, My wonderful engineer, Bob Koehl. The best ever. Excellent mentor and teacher, passionate about engineering and FIRST. Makes the kids do the work. Makes the kids figure everything out. Yells when he needs to, praises when he needs to. He can do it all and he can teach it all- programming, design, mechanical, electrical. Wow! We LOVE Bob!

[Joshua May]

I have to say my team's new mentor for last year, Paul Schmidt. He came in to the project not knowing much about the program, just what he saw from visiting for a day at competition. But he worked very hard to see this team, and more importantly its members, succeed.

[tiffany34990]

i have had many great mentors over the years-- this is soo hard to pick just one that has help me this year and years passed. But THANKS to all the great mentors on my team for helping but i really would like to say a big thanks to Jack our machinest. He joined our team and made a huge contribution. He is willing to teach us everything he knows about each machine. Without him this year, we wouldn't have been able to make as many parts as we did in our pit. He got hooked to FIRSt so we're glad he is gonna stick on-- if u ever want to know anything and S.P.A.M. is around and he's there in the pits-- go up and ask him. He'll be happy to help and finds other ways to solve a problem. He def. knows the tricks to the trade.

[Adare180]

Originally Posted by tiffany34990

i have had many great mentors over the years-- this is soo hard to pick just one that has help me this year and years passed. But THANKS to all the great mentors on my team for helping but i really would like to say a big thanks to Jack our machinest. He joined our team and made a huge contribution. He is willing to teach us everything he knows about each machine. Without him this year, we wouldn't have been able to make as many parts as we did in our pit. He got hooked to FIRSt so we're glad he is gonna stick on-- if u ever want to know anything and S.P.A.M. is around and he's there in the pits-- go up and ask him. He'll be happy to help and finds other ways to solve a problem. He def. knows the tricks to the trade.

During the season, I was never in the pit (except for taking pictures and such) and now, I give thanks to Mrs. Lee and Jack for introducing me to the pit. Mrs. Lee is one of our mentors, as well as a teacher, who does a great deal for the team. She organized a Girl's Camp for the girls on our team as well as help us in our plans to make the RCU an active organization in Florida. Hopefully, with the help of mentors like Mrs. Lee, we can get more girls intrested in robotics, and help all girls learn, that they too can do anything. ***To Tiffany: You are the student on our team I aspire to be someday. I'm sure you will be our best team captain yet. I will miss you sooo much next year. It's so sad, this is your last year on our team.

[Arefin Bari]

Its really hard to decide whos the one who helped through your FIRST experience.. when you have all these great mentors, teachers and FIRSTers around you... working with you 24/7, helping you out anyway possible... some names... Felix alvarez from my team (our mechanical engineer who has been such a great friend and a great mentor), Mr. Stan Shelton ... (our teacher who has been working with the team and organizing everything)... Andy Baker (an Engineer whom everyone admires... everytime when i had a technical question.. i had a solution from him) Gary Dillard, erik, matt, tiffany, mary (pit crews of SPAM) has always helped me, they gave me two globe motors which made our robot arm work at nationals... Ron and Jim from 107 (looks like they always bring their machine shop for our team)... Brandon Martus and DJ (any problems with chiefdelphi for me gets solved in min)... my fellow FIRSTers... Tytus, Mike walker, Andrew Rudolph, George (1083), Dan (studmandan), Ryan, Abe, Peter, Mandie (179)... from my team... jimbo (specialagentjim), Michele (co manager with me for the mechanical team), Matt Kaplan (matt_kaplan108)... they are always there when i need them...

then Finally My family... they have always supported me with my decisions, when i first asked my dad about joining robotics, his response was "i trust you... do what you think is right... just follow your heart"... mommy always tells me that concentrate on what i am doing... and my younger brother is following me to be a FIRSTer...

just like i said to one of the newscast people at UCF... "when i first joined back in my freshman year... i thought this is just one of my side activity, hobby or spare time activity... but after time has passed by throughout my sophomore year, junior year ... FIRST has become my life... and i admire all of my fellow FIRSTers..."

[Swampdude]

Every year I get to do this, there's a student or two that I watch engage in creativity and get excited about building something cool, and wanting more. It all reminds me of when I was a kid and used to tear everything apart and construct whatever I could. Learning like this is unequaled in our society. To be a part of that, and to help them in it is an honor. Though as mentors we may not be perfect or even suited for it, regardless the students themselves benefit from the shear scale and nature of this event/process and the environment we create for them.
That said Tytus really reminds me of how I was. He can't get enough and isn't hindered by anything (which was dangerous in the beginning). He's matured drastically since he started. I remember the first meeting he came to. He was frantic and wirey whizzing around a video game, not paying attention. But as soon as we got his hands dirty, he was scarred for life. At first I was afraid to leave him alone, now I have a great amount of confidence in him. He's really turned out great, and I'm very proud of him, he's going to be a contributor.
Also I've grown very fond of Amanda. She's such a great kid. From day one she's been as helpful as she could be. She's always been productive and focused. She's wanted to learn about everything, and it only took once to explain anything to her. She's very careful and skilled with her hands and puts quality into everything she does. She's also valedictorian of her school so that's testament to her character.
Fairly speaking I could go on about many kids, there really are a lot that I'm glad to have met. Many have graduated and gone to other things, but all seem to check back in and we get to see them. I hope FIRST and 179 live on to tell more stories like these. Thanks FIRST and Thanks to all the folks who plug in!

[R2K2D2]

As an advisor on Team 461, the single person who probably has left the biggest impression on me is Mr. Florence better known as Flo. Not only is Flo a great mentor to the HS students, he is a great mentor to the other advisors on the team. I know he doesn't frequent these forums, but he still deserves the recognition. Flo has taught me more than I can describe in words. Not only has he shown me how to be a good mentor and a good teacher, he's in a way kinda taught me about life. Anytime I have a problem or issue or just need someone to talk to, I can always turn to Mr. Florence. That's the great thing about him, rain or shine, good or bad, he is always there for you. He's opened up himself, his life and his family to not only me, but the entire team. He always talks about passion which is extremely important to him. I really never felt as passionate as a FIRSTer until I became an advisor on 461. Through him I have seen the kind of impact we have on students and the impact they have on us. Not only do his tasks include being a high school teacher, a husband, a father, but also a listener, a helper, a machinest, a FIRST mentor, and most of all a great FRIEND. There have been many nights long after a robot meeting is over at the high school where I have just sat around and talked to Flo, and that's the great thing about him, he's literally always there for you. It's no wonder why every student who steps in his classroom or on this robotics team loves him, because he is a great teacher, a great friend, and a great person. Thank you Mr. Florence, for having one of the largest impacts on my life, and even though I may be parting for a little while, I'll always be around to visit and always here in spirit. Thank you so very much.