In four years, alot can change.

[Tetraman]

When I had to leave 174, It was at the worst time. We had just won our first Team Spirit award. To many teams, the Team Spirit award is just another trophy for the case, but for us, it was just as important as winning the regional all together. Never had the team shown so much spirit, and never has the team done anything to show the robotics community what our team is. But it had to change. I stood up, and I aked our team to cheer. And we did. And I poured my entire sould into cheering, and so did my team, every memeber gave everything they had. When dave read off our team number for the award, something came over our team. We were connected, we were together, we were finally a team. But I had to leave, and those team members of my age had to leave too, so I knew our team would lose what I had planted.

But I was wrong!! We went to Buckeye this year, and without me saying one thing, my team cheered the second we entered the stadium. They cheered everyime our robot was out. They cheered for everything, and everyone. They didn't stop either. We cheered in our hotel, and on the bus.

You may not know it, but you can leave the greatest impact, by doing the smallest things. Thats the power of FIRST.

I tell the team all the time, that the hardest thing to do is to cheer for a loseing robot. But it's the team that counts. And if the team builds a robot, the team has completed the task FIRST has given.

FIRST doesn't end after your last year within a team. It's never going to end.

[sanddrag]

Jaine, you've left me at a loss for words. Your essay is absolutely incredible. It is a tragedy I've never met you in person.

Let me just say one thing though. Never be ashamed of playing to win. However, progressing from just caring about winning matches to also caring about winning a great future is what makes you a great FIRSTer.

If you ask me, I think every team needs a Jaine.

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

Jaine is my hero. People like her, like Lisa Perez, and like so many others on this forum changed the way I see FIRST, and I haven't even started with other mentors.