Who would you like to see speak at a FIRST event?

[Collmandoman]

how professional of you 2 to pass judgement on somebody who has never been convicted of a crime you know nothing about-
I think he's a great public speaker, just trying to contribute to the thread.
Kanye West is also a good choice. I got a chance to see him speak to reporters in miami this summer. He's a very classy guy - Most of you might think his recent media attention with the katrina disaster was atrocious-- I think it took alot of 'gonads' to say that at such a time, and at such a place.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Collmandoman

how professional of you 2 to pass judgement on somebody who has never been convicted of a crime you know nothing about-
I think he's a great public speaker, just trying to contribute to the thread.
Kanye West is also a good choice. I got a chance to see him speak to reporters in miami this summer. He's a very classy guy - Most of you might think his recent media attention with the katrina disaster was atrocious-- I think it took alot of 'gonads' to say that at such a time, and at such a place.

See the results of the last time we had a rapper "speak" (He was on a video) at a FIRST event.

I'd much rather have someone who is actually related to what we do.

I don't think this would ever happen, but I just thought of someone I'd like to hear speak--Lance Armstrong. Everytime I've heard him speak in public, he's been incredibly articulate and thoughtful. Not to mention the fact that he has to be one of the most inspiring people alive.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Collmandoman

how professional of you 2 to pass judgement on somebody who has never been convicted of a crime you know nothing about-
I think he's a great public speaker, just trying to contribute to the thread.
Kanye West is also a good choice. I got a chance to see him speak to reporters in miami this summer. He's a very classy guy - Most of you might think his recent media attention with the katrina disaster was atrocious-- I think it took alot of 'gonads' to say that at such a time, and at such a place.

R Kellys problems are well docmented and he would be very inappropriate for a FIRST event whether or not he was convicted. It would be very frowned upon.

Personally I'd rather here from one of our Woddie Flowers award winners about how FIRST has changed their lives and the people around them.

[Collmandoman]

What happened the last time a rapper spoke?
And I still dunno... that seems to be stereotyping if you think one rappers speech would reflect the abilities of all others.
I'm bringing them up, because part of a first event is to excite and interest the audience, and the audience at these events are in the targeted age groups of these 2 performers.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Collmandoman

What happened the last time a rapper spoke?
And I still dunno... that seems to be stereotyping if you think one rappers speech would reflect the abilities of all others.
I'm bringing them up, because part of a first event is to excite and interest the audience, and the audience at these events are in the targeted age groups of these 2 performers.

Check out Amanda's earlier post in this thread about Will Smith. just about any entertainer would be met with scorn. Could you imagine Brittiney Spears addressing the crowd at the championship?

[Collmandoman]

britney is speaking at the cahmpionship next year?

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Collmandoman

What happened the last time a rapper spoke?
And I still dunno... that seems to be stereotyping if you think one rappers speech would reflect the abilities of all others.
I'm bringing them up, because part of a first event is to excite and interest the audience, and the audience at these events are in the targeted age groups of these 2 performers.

Nobody is interested in what someone has to say if it doesn't have any relevancy.

I don't think Kanye brings anything to the table other than the fact he raps. At least with other non technical speakers that have been mentioned, they all have something particularly interesting about them that they could share with us.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Collmandoman

britney is speaking at the cahmpionship next year?

Thankfully no.
It was bad enough when Mandy Moore showed up for the 2002 championship. I couldn't evecuate the area fast enough.

[Collmandoman]

I didn't even think of this but.. kanye is black- and I know this is a somewhat unsupported claim- the % of black engineers does not reflect the % of black people in the country -- kanye could in a way help this
maybe not just kanye, but having black engineers- could speak and help dispell any negative stereotypes about race and engineering

P.S. What is wrong with mandy moore?

[Amanda Morrison]

This thread is not for discussing pedophilia, a musical performer's speech abilities, or someone's gonads. Please discuss this somewhere else, if you feel the need.

In the meantime, please remember that the children we are trying to positively influence do read these forums. Please evaluate your comments next time before you post.

[Collmandoman]

I agree lance armstrong would be a great speaker at a first event. Also the creators of BattleBotsIQ are great speakers, and allowing them to speak would show that we are all interested in aiding the development of young minds towards engineering- and would show how selfless FIRST is.

[dez250]

Originally Posted by Collmandoman

Also the creators of BattleBotsIQ are great speakers, and allowing them to speak would show that we are all interested in aiding the development of young minds towards engineering- and would show how selfless FIRST is.

The creators of BBIQ are also FIRST alumnus.

[sciguy125]

Originally Posted by dez250

The creators of BBIQ are also FIRST alumnus.

Alumnus is the singular form. Alumni is the plural.

If it ends in "us", drop it and add an "i".

alumnus - alumni
cactus - cacti
radius - radii
octopus - octopi

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find more language to correct.

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by sciguy125

Alumnus is the singular form. Alumni is the plural.

And let us not forget the feminine form, alumna and alumnae (I work at a women's college!)...

[Jessica Boucher]

Hahaha, alright, looks like we've sidetracked into "Off-Topic Land", an area I know I have to visit every so often but I am always happy to leave.

So, I'm going to post a new, but related question.

Now, we've heard a lot of different viewpoints from a lot of different people. But, do any of us on this forum actually know what's best for the target we're trying to hit with a speaker? Not necessarily. Not only are most of us in this thread out of the 14-18 bracket, but we're already FIRST-converted. Added with the fact that we're interested enough in FIRST that we take the time to be an active part of FIRST's Online Community, we are naturally more attuned to the science/tech sector than an average HS student would be. So, someone we may suggest because we like them may actually flop among who we're trying to reach.

But....does it matter? If we choose someone that would not normally be picked by someone in the target, will they react as well to the speaker?
What is the metric that we decide the successfulness of a speaker? Do more well-known speakers score better, or does a lesser-known speaker perform just as well?