FIRST impact on Adults

[Woe]

There has been a lot written about the impact FIRST has had on students. As parents, mentors, or adults otherwise involved with a team, what is the impact FIRST has had on you?

[Rich Kressly]

great question...
my story and others are here:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/1583

[JaneYoung]

Hi Woe:
I will try to answer this for where I am in the FIRST growth process right now. It changes with each passing year.

The impact on me is the circle of mentor-ship between students and mentors, mentors and mentors, students and students. It is the never ending 'how, why, did we try this, how about this' quest that can be applied to engineering concepts, marketing concepts, outreach, team development, individual growth. The interactions between inexperienced teams and veteran teams, each learning from the other never gets old for me. It is always inspiring. When working together as FIRSTers we bridge ages, cultures, & belief systems with the sharing of knowledge and experience as a two-way. And then there are the competitions...
Jane

[Richard Wallace]

Great topic, LeAnn.

FIRST's impact on me has been recharging. The really great thing is that the charge gets more effective every year. The longer I stay with FIRST the more I get to meet and work with inspiring people -- the kind of people that charge my batteries.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

LeAnn,
The effect on my life has been surprising. The problem solving techniques I have picked up along the way have helped in many fascinating ways in my own job. I regularly surprise myself and my coworkers with quick solutions to problems that come directly from problems encountered on the team. The compressed schedule has trained me to change the way in which I prioritize tasks. The need to interact with other subteams has taught me better communication with others. Perhaps the best thing is the interaction and understanding needed to work with individuals of varying ages (chronological as well as emotional), temperments, skills and experience. Above all, I have found an entirely new resource in the professionals I meet from other teams. How cool is it to have friends in all parts of the country and the list grows longer each year?