Girls,Why did you join FIRST???

[Mitch1525]

I joined FIRST because my brother was on it and he always told me about how much fun it was. I also used to participate in FLL in middle school. I went to the meeting and found that I was the only girl who participated. Even though I was only a freshman, I went to the meetings almost as often as the seniors. When I went to the competition, I meet someone there and we have been pen-pals ever since. I'm trying to convince some of my female friends to join the team so we have some diversity. Our team is quite small, but I'm trying to make it bigger! I LOVE FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Éowyn]

I joined FIRST because of a few things:
1: I like building things, especially when they work.
2: I was in first lego league.
3. I like learning.
4. I love machining, assembling, and fixing.(when I know what's wrong. )

And one reason that's just for fun...

5. I am a certified genius.

[Libby K]

I joined FIRST because, through my family, i've been going to events. I'd always wanted to be on a team, because i'd been able to see how much fun it was!

FIRST is definitely the best thing that's happened to me [so far] in high school. and life. I really don't think it can get any cooler than this.

=]

[andyhoyt911]

well to be honest, i was looking for something i could do in high school, and i found it. i also like to build things and tear them apart, so in a way, this works out perfect.

but in a way, i dont like being on my team because all the other members think that because i'm a girl, i dont know anything.

and thats not true. they dont give me a fair chance to show them...

im not sure if i'm going to stay.

any advice, girls?

[Libby K]

definitely stay. jump in as much as you can, and you'll earn their respect. it's totally worth sticking around for.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by andyhoyt911

well to be honest, i was looking for something i could do in high school, and i found it. i also like to build things and tear them apart, so in a way, this works out perfect.

Your words hold their own wisdom.
It has to start somewhere, let it start with you.
4 years ago we had one girl on the team, this year we are up to 7 and they are busy. It had to start somewhere.
Jane

[thatphotochick]

Originally Posted by andyhoyt911

im not sure if i'm going to stay.

any advice, girls?

even though i'm still clueless, for the most part, about robotics and building, it was still fun to be on the team.
alot of the other girls had that same problem, cause some of the boys thought they were as *dumb* as me, but they just stayed right there, training in the pre-season and learning how to machine and what-not better than most of the boys and when the season started most of em contributed more to the robot that most of the boys. just stick close to whatever's going on and be the first to volunteer. that made our mentors have soo much respect for the few girls that would just stick by them as close as possible and volunteer/jump in whenever someone was needed. our head mentor tells everyone that if he could, he'd have a team of just girls.

[A. Snodgrass]

I joined FIRST because quite honestly, it seemed like it would be fun, it would allow me to have something that I would be interested in after school, and it was a wonderful opportunity. This is a decision I havent regretted since.

[laurenlacy]

Why I joined? I honestly don't know. I think it was that I needed a cool extracurricular, I was unmotivated doing what I'd been doing, and I was interested in the business side of things.

Why I am still doing it, and hope to mentor etc in the future? Because it made me feel like I was someone more than the smart girl who didn't apply herself. It caught me at a good time. The team is a great group of guys and girls, and they showed me what could happen when you do apply yourself--suddenly I was in charge of getting thousands of dollars for the team, for sending thank you's to around 50 mentors and sponsors... there was something bigger than myself at play. I know you supposedly can get that from sports teams, but I wasn't in the sports I was playing. The sports I was playing gave all the glory to the team superstar... and I was just the kid who liked to get in there and play. In FIRST, the kid who likes to get in there and play is the superstar... because they are the people making the biggest difference.

Even better is that there is room for EVERYBODY to do something. I was the kid involved on the business side, but I was also able to get my hands dirty building the robot. The kid who likes making videos has a spot. The kid who loves to draw attention to herself has a spot. The kid who loves building computers on the weekends has a spot. The girl who likes to design all day has a spot. To be honest, many of the people I found loving the most were the kids I would really not have "discovered" on my own... they were the kids who I thought just sat at home and did math problems on the weekends, and suddenly I was finding out that they also had designed a board game for themselves and did other crazy fun things.

During my first build season, I was busier than I had ever been before. I was also happier than I had ever been, and my grades were up. I think it's because I wasn't afraid to ask questions anymore, or to feel stupid. I had never had BAD grades, I had just never had straight A's. I had a great relationship with my family, because we had dinner table conversation topics that everyone could participate in for the first time in years. I made great friends too... working on something for around 5 hours a day after school does that to you.

When I went to that first regional competition I can't even describe the feelings I had. I felt like I was USEFUL... a feeling that I had rarely before felt. I was busy, and at night, after games of truth or dare that got the team waaaaaaaay too comfortable with each other, the other two girls and I would talk until 2 in the morning... and then wake up at 6 the next morning to go compete. It was probably not the best idea, but on the plus side the team has great quotes from me being sleep deprived. It was so exciting to see something that had consumed my life for six weeks finally in action, and in retrospect, it really didn't matter that we were winning or losing, it was that I was finally excited about something.

Sorry this is so long winded... but I guess what I'm saying is that it's not why a girl joins so much as why a girl stays. I wish there was a way to get more girls involved... but I think if more girls share how amazing their experiences have been, it will happen.

-Lauren

I dont really know. I just always was interested in taking things a part and putting them together.and also building things with my brother out of legos and knex.

[vic burg]

I just would like to update my inititial response.
I had joined the team at my school because I thought it was interesting and cool.
But now that I have been with FIRST for a couple of years, and I actually just wrote an application essay for a college about robotics, I have come to realize that I had really joined because of my background and experiences. My father has been a carpenter since before I was born. So, I was always helpnig him out with projects and what not. I also had gotten a lot of exposure to art.
I guess it was a combination of the two that lead me to my belief that robots are a piece of art.
I am Mechanical Manager for the second year in a row with the team and I get more and more enthused about teaching the new FIRSTers on our team about the art of robot building.
I think that everything is some art form.
FIRST is just a great way for thinking/tech artists to show off their skills.
Just like an artist (visual) can't put on a performance, but can only display his/her artwork, our competitions are just like showcases for our artwork.
We get to interact with it, but it is still kind of like showing it off.
I think that is why I really got into robotics.
((Also to play with legos as a teenager)) lol
to show off my artwork.

[robotkayleigh]

I had to write an essay for our team scholarship that I think explains my reasoning fairly well.

If I think about it, my entire life seems like one big FIRST experience. I first saw the Bomb Squad when I was in the fourth grade and the thing I wanted from that moment on was to be on the Bomb Squad. FLL started the next year and I was on my way. I sort of bounced around on school teams for a while, but then some of us got serious and we started our own team. Lucky for us, we had six Bomb Squad members to show us the ropes. Jesse Darr and Ashley DeMass seemed to take an interest and worked with me on the research project. They taught me how to speak in front of people, talk to judges, and think on the fly, all skills that I would find essential not only for a future in FIRST, but for life.
Before I knew it the ninth grade had ended and I was getting ready for high school and The Bomb Squad. Little did I know my parents had different ideas concerning my FIRST career. They gave me an ultimatum saying that I could join Bomb Squad and nothing else or I could not join Bomb Squad and compete in everything else. Unfortunately for them their plan backfired and I chose FIRST. The rest is pretty much history. I started out a quiet sophomore sorting screws, obsessing about ratchets, and doing whatever the seniors asked me to. My junior year I think I grew up a little, wanting to know about everything from Inventor drawings to the finished robot. Stepping into the position of driver I was more nervous than I think it's possible to describe, but I learned how to control my nerves and something about grace under pressure. This year was my senior year and I put everything I could think of into this season. I stayed on people's couches or in their spare bedrooms, going home maybe twice a week, just to attend meetings full time. I made sure we had a coloring book and decorated recycling bins.
I don't know what sorts of experiences you want to hear about, but I don't think I could have put anything more into Bomb Squad or FIRST. I started a silly kid who liked to play with legos, then I grew up a little and started researching topics, I grew up a little more and mentored my own FLL team, I grew up even more and became senior robot driver for the Bomb Squad. Now I am a freshman entering University of Arkansas's mechanical engineering program and I plan to continue to let FIRST help me evolve. I hope to one day be a referee, a judge, have my own team, or maybe when I'm old and experienced enough, Dave Lavery or Dean Kamen's job. You never know. It could happen.

[Athleticgirl389]

I don't remember if I posted here or not... if I did, just let me know haha.

But I joined FIRST because , well, when my brother was in 9th grade (and i was in 7th) he joined. So of course, I was forced to go with my mom to drop him off at the work site. Well, this one time we went, had to have been one of the first because there was nothing built yet haha, I went into the work site and was basically all So the students had to sign in on a sheet of paper (for attendence records and all). No one was looking - so i did it too lol. The elder kids (and adults) saw it and laughed. Then 2 years later, at the team dinner, with our new advsior, I solved a puzzle cube in about 10 seconds and they guys couldn't do it. So with me seeing a work site, going to offseasons, and doing what the guys could/couldn't do, I knew I wanted to do this - and boy am I ever glad I joined FIRST. I got to use my imagination soooo much and loved it. From the first day til now, I still see myself as that lil 7th grade girl - using her imagination to the fullest. Now, I get to use my imagination and it's a much bigger part of the team.
With the years on my team, I've learned so much. Now that I'm in college, I can put that stuff to use; and yes, I am still mentoring the same team that I "joined" 8 years ago =]

[Cooley744]

I joined basicly because of the trips and because I could get out of class and boring study halls. I've stayed because it's...well it's...FIRST.

[Nica F.]

So it's my second time posting in this thread.
And no I'm not here to change my answer and make it seem like I was in it for more interesting reasons, but this is what I'm going to say;

Its so great to read this thread and see a post i posted when i just joined because I was able to see how much I've grown.

My answer a long time ago was simple, I joined because it's the only club i could, and because of all my guy friends.
And to think that because of just those little things, i was introduced to a program that completely altered my life and made me who I am today.