FIRST after Highschool

[Jeff Waegelin]

When I graduated from HS (back in 2003), I went through much the same decision process you're going through now. I really wanted to stay involved with FIRST, because it was something I really enjoyed, but I also was concerned about having enough time, classes, and the like. Initially, I decided I was going to take a year off, volunteer, and not be involved with a team.

As the season rolled around, though, I couldn't stay away. I decided to go back to my high school team, and help them out. They were in a transition year, with lots of new people in leadership roles, and I figured I could lend some experience to the new organization. In the end, it wasn't really such a good idea. Going back to work as a mentor with the same students who had been my peers the season before was a challenge. We also had a new teacher, and that posed some conflict - I wanted to have the responsibilities as an adult mentor, but she saw me as this 18 year old kid who was in high school less than a year previously. Needless to say, it wasn't the best situation, and I really wasn't ready to handle the responsibilities of being a mentor.

On top of this, I had been spending all my weekends back home in Rochester, and sometimes skipping class and homework assignments so I could leave early for a meeting (it was an hour drive home). I still was doing okay in school, but not as well as I had the semester before.

At that point, I seriously considered quitting FIRST entirely. I hadn't had much fun, I was burned out, and came close to calling it quits. Fortunately, a friend of mine knew some of the people involved with a team in Ann Arbor (where I went to college), and got me in contact with them. That turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made in FIRST. The new team was much closer (5 minutes from my dorm), they were structured to allow the college mentors specific roles in the team, and I had a chance to build a proper mentor-student relationship from the ground up. My year mentoring my old team had also given me new perspective on how to run a team, and how to be a mentor. With some help from other experienced mentors, I was able to have a great season, and eventually became the design manager, and then the team leader. I got to see some of the students that were freshmen and sophomores become upperclassmen and leaders... it really was a truly rewarding experience. The best thing was at IRI (my last event with the team) when the mother of one of those original freshmen came and told me how I had been a role model and inspiration for her son. It made me feel like I had really made a difference to those kids.

So, the main things I got from this experience:
- Trying to mentor your old high school team is not always a good idea... it's better to get a fresh start in a new place.
- College freshmen are not always ready to be mentors... they can learn, but it usually takes a season or so to really develop into a good mentor.
- If you do mentor in college, find a team that's close! Your free time and grades will thank you.
- Mentoring can be a great experience if you approach it right, and there's nothing better than being able to help give another student the same experience that inspired you.

[Ty Tremblay]

I graduated high school last year. The college I'm attending is Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and sponsors a team (190). So I was able to remain just as involved with FIRST as when i was the captain of my high school team. They also offer the first and only Robotics Engineering Program which is definitely my cup of tea.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Nica F.

and for those who continued with FIRST by mentoring a team right away:

What do you think were problems you encountered?
Do you feel like you had time to adjust and be a mentor at the same time?

Of course, anything additional you'd like to add to your answer is fine.

Thanks all in advance!,
Nica

Well, I pretty much started coming to the meetings right before the season started (because of conflicting schedule).

It's definitely tempting to put too much time into it, but I made a promise to myself that my classes come first (and I've kept it so far).

Another thing I've noticed is that the Mentors respect me as the mentors, but the students kind of respect me as an older student. It's kind of nice because it's easier to relate to everyone; I haven't encountered any problems with the exception of parents assuming I'm just a big high school student.



I'd say, try it out; If there are problems you can always back off and try again another season.

[EricH]

I was in the same boat. I decided immediately that I wouldn't start a team, which would be my only option at school. (SDSM&T has no teams closer than halfway across the state or more, and Denver is the closest regional.) So I decided to come back to my old team for the first week or so (Christmas break means GO HOME at Mines). Then I heard that a team we'd mentored their first year which had dropped out of FRC was coming back and needed a hand. I went over there instead. It's been an experience.

I will continue to help 1135 as best I can, but it will have to be via the web--SD to CA is a trip. I might return for L.A., but I'm not sure whether it'll be as a mentor or a volunteer (or both) yet.

So, to sum up:
Starting a team is probably not a good idea.
Mentoring a team should only be done if you have free time--breaks, all work complete, etc.
Volunteering is a better idea, but only if you have the time.

School comes first.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by Wayne C.

FIRST is for inspiration of HS kids to pursue engineering.

When you graduate take that inspiration and actually pursue engineering

Once you have pursued come back and be an example to others. You will always be welcome.



My $.02

WC

This quote absolutely hit the nail on the head. Follow this advice.

Move on to the university and your new life. You will be surrounded by a unique opportunity to learn and experience new things.

Do this and come back in a few years.

[midway78224]

i mentor my team right out of high school and since im in college and going for mechincal engineering i find it very helpful to keep mentoring for my team i learn something new in the field of engineering everyday. so i feel if ur going to be a engineering as a career u probraly should keep mentoring out of high school but thats just me.

[Kims Robot]

Every situation is a little different, and to me, the fact that you are considering taking a break as a choice, means you probably should (IMO).

When I was graduating, it was nearly zero question in my mind that I would continue FIRST. I looked at several schools but of the ones that came out on top of my choices, only one, my #1 choice, didnt have a FIRST option... nor did I get in though (114/1800 applicants accepted at the time). Anyways, my goal in graduating high school was to try and inspire just one student the way I had been inspired... and for me, at the time, that meant joining an existing team (WPI, Daniel Webster, RPI, etc) or starting a new one. I chose the hard road because Clarkson seemed like the right fit for me, and it was exciting to have the chance to make a team what I thought it should be like.

It was rough, my first semester I laid the foundation but also joined the Varsity Ski team and Honors program, between practice, homework and FIRST I had maybe one night a week worth of free time, I did get a 3.25 that semester. The next semester FIRST and skiing kicked in full gear and I pulled a 3.0, started to drop below the GPA for the honors program... Sophomore year got harder, classes hit, life stuff hit, plus I still had everything else... that first semester I got a 2.8, I was now below the honors program level & on "probation". Second semester hit and I buckled down hard, but kept involved in everything else and somehow squeeked out a 3.0... I spent the rest of my college career crawling back up to a 3.3. While I suggest not just studying & partying, get involved in something else - it helps with jobs, your first year may not be the year to kick in unless you are confident on your time management.

I absolutely loved starting the Clarkson team, and really wouldnt have changed my decision for the world, but I know that it was hard, and I know that had managed my time even slightly less effectively, I wouldnt have pulled out of it. So my advice would be if you don't know in your heart that you HAVE to be on a FIRST team, or you doubt your time management skills, take a break, get to know yourself, have fun your first year of college, then decide if you want to go back, or wait until you are an engineer.

There are several levels of it as well. We do have 3 students back as college mentors this year, two graduated last year, the other mentored last year. All are doing well with classes, but all three pretty much only come during build season, and when they have a few spare moments. None are in critical positions (dont lead subteams), they just help out where needed. This is a good way to get your FIRST fix, but also be able to get your work done as well. Remember Grades HAVE to come first... I see far too many kids think they can bomb their first year and dont realize how horribly that affects your GPA. My company wont even look at students without a 3.0 coming out of college, so the competition is stiff!

Good luck!!

[Melissa Nute]

After being on a team for 4 years in High School, I decided to explore some other things in college than just FIRST. I worked full time most of my college career, along with being involved in a sorority and other events. I kept up my FIRST involvement by volunteering at Off-Season & Regional events as to not lose touch with the competition but without a real responsibility outside of the competitions, as school was the most important thing to me.

Thanks to my focus on school, I was able to finish college in 3.5 years for my degree in Mechanical Engineering. I recently started at a large company that supports a FIRST robotics team in the area & will be looking at going back to a team to now mentor. I now feel I will be better fitted to mentor than I would have been in college as my obligations are different than they were in school since I don't have the worry of college work deadlines.

You don't have to be on a team to be involved. Volunteers are greatly needed at many of the competitions.

[KelliV]

Instead of writing out the wordy post that I was going to I figured I would keep it all short and sweet, or at least try to.

Pick an event over your spring break, get rooming arangements made, and travel to that event(Southwest is a cheap airline if your choice means you have to fly somewhere). Its a fun way to keep FIRST in your life without having to worry about the stress of getting stuff done at college. And yes, college is stressful, I go to art school and am stressed, I have learned over the past year and a half that art is a lot easier than engineering I can't even start to imagine how hard engineering school is.

If you still want to be involved look into something slightly smaller, try to start an FLL team during the fall of your sophomore year, it requires less intense participation on all parts and you will find it easier to gain credibility with elementry and middle school students.

-Kelli

[Kat Kononov]

I'm a senior too, and I have the same concern. My friend is a freshman in college, and she's in their robotics club. They mentor an FRC team, but not us. She said she'd rather mentor us, so she came to stay with me for this week.

I think what you might find is that your college mentors some other team but your allegiance lies with your old team. If that's ever the case for me, I think I'll mentor both teams, as well as participate in college level robotics.

[Darunada]

I graduated last year and am greatly enjoying mentoring my old team this year!

Our team is in a unique situation, with only a small handful of people from years past. It's almost all newer people.

When I contacted the team a few weeks before kickoff, I was disappointed to hear they didn't do much thinking about robotics, and the new guys didn't know much more than they did at the start of the year. I was originally planning on mentoring occationally, but I've been there every day this week, enjoying it.

I'm also enjoying teaching guys how to do things, it's cool being the one teaching instead of the one learning... but I still have plenty of learning to do too!


During the winter break, a handful of college mentors are helping, but as soon as school starts they won't be around. I live close to my high school, and I intend to help through the season... but probably not every day once they have a handle on things!

[Katy]

Please take a good look in the mirror before mentoring. Assess your motivations. Ask yourself "does a team need me or do I need a team?"

During highschool FIRST was, in many cases, basically our lives. You have many wonderful memories of your highschool team and that is as it should be. FIRST is designed for high school students. When you are in high school FIRST is all about you: your experiences, your inspirations, your team, your team's accomplishments. That doesn't mean you're selfish, it is how the program works.

When you become a mentor FIRST is not about you anymore. You are not a team captain with extra privileges. You are a professional adult attempting to share your experiences with the next generation of FIRST. You are, willingly or not, a role model. The program is not designed to give you anything except the joy of watching your students grow as individuals.

Becoming a mentor in order to maintain your highschool lifestyle of FIRST is an incredibly selfish and damaging thing for you to do. Refusing to adapt to your life is bad for you. This behavior is also not good for your students because you are being a bad example. Instead of being inspired by FIRST you are behaving as if you were addicted to it.

If you have any illusions that participating as a college mentor will be the same experience as being a team member I'd advise you take a year off for your own good. Get to know yourself. Learn to stand on your own two feet before you try to carry others.

In short the decision to become a mentor or not is not about what you want. It is about what is best for the team you will be mentoring.

[jee7s]

I graduated HS in 2000, and I got my BS in EE in 2004. I'm slated to get my PhD in Computational Intelligence and Adaptive Controls this coming May.

I returned to mentor my team last year, a 7 year lapse. I think I was better served by having that lapse, and I think my team was better served as well.

Some will bite my head off for this...but being involved in FIRST has a tendency to put "FIRST Goggles" on. Here's what I mean: Participants get all wrapped up in the FIRST universe that they forget the real universe. Yes, FIRST provides you a framework for the competition, but it also blinds some to the physical reality.

I've noticed this in dealing with students. During my 7 year absence, my team took on the philosophy that FIRST is a shop project, focusing on mechanics and neglecting programming/electronics. They hardly knew any programming, controls, etc...and I had to impart these topics onto them. Since everyone was so stuck in their ways, I worked with mostly new people. That new group and the old group have merged now, and this season is looking better. It did, however, stand in the way of their success last year.

For myself, I have come into a field that is reasonably related to FIRST. However, I know two people from my old team who became involved in IT software and civil engineering, two disciplines tangentially related to FIRST. We are all good engineers, and FIRST does a good job exposing students to engineering, but there is engineering beyond robotics.

Simply, leaving FIRST for a year (or 4, or more) gives you the opportunity to view your future, whatever field it may be in, from a neutral perspective. Getting your "FIRST Goggles" off allows you to bring new ideas into the FIRST universe, which helps the competition (if you ask me).

-JEE

[Alivia]

First of all, let me tell you how much I completely understand how you feel right now! I was the same way last year, thinking about it being my senior year and how I wasn't sure how FIRST would fit into my life down the road. My first (and probably best advice for you at the moment) is to live up your last year as a student. I tried to do that last year, but got caught up in the sadness of it being my last year. If you live it up, you'll be happier later on.

Right now, I am a student at Ball State University and currently a college mentor for Team 1720. I got into contact with the team before I selected my college, because I knew I still wanted to be involved with FIRST. So, you should research the college or town you will reside in after high school and see if there is a team there that you could work with. Then get in contact with the team and start asking about becoming a part of their team. In my experience, the team was very accepting and happy that I wanted to mentor, and greeted me with open arms.

If you do end up joining a team, there are a few things you need to keep in mind: your primary concern should be school. Doing well in school is more important than mentoring a team. I used the first semester of college as my transition period. I attended a meeting here and there for robotics and helped out a little, but my main focus was the transition between high school and college. You'll get a good feel for college by the time kick off roles around. Now, I attend 3-4 meetings a week, giving myself enough time for both my schoolwork and my work as a mentor. And my team is very understanding that I'm a full time student and can't make it every day.

I am also volunteering at the Midwest Regional in Chicago.

What problems have I encountered? Well, at first I think I tried to bite off more than I could chew, so to say. I tried to throw myself into a mentor position as soon as I came to college without allowing time to transition. I realized this, took a step back, and then came back with an even greater for joining the team.

Probably one of the hardest things for me to do was to realize that I was on a NEW team with a NEW role. I wasn't the student anymore. I'm helping mold the future. Like Katy said in this thread previously, it's not about you anymore. It's about what you can do for the students to help them grow. If you join a new team, they will have a different way of doing things. I started off saying, "Well, on my old team..," but now I realize that I am on a new team who already have their own identity. While I will always love Team Hammond (my previous team), I realized that it was time to move on, take what they taught me, and pass on my knowledge to others. It's hard to switch from putting everything you have into one team and then putting it into a completely new team, but it is necessary if you are going to be a successful mentor. That was probably the hardest part.

It is all up to you, really. What worked for me or others may or may not work for you. You'll know what is right for you when the time comes to make a decision. And even if you take some time off of FIRST, you can be happy in knowing that FIRST will be waiting for your return...

[enpurx]

I am a college freshman, and I decided to keep in touch with my team throughout the year. This previous week I came back to my high school to assist the robotics team with design and prototyping. Because last year was our team's rookie year, I don't feel like I know enough to mentor a team, even though my college does. Therefore, I just categorized myself as a "facilitator" instead of "mentor" and led discussions and did administrative tasks.

Unfortunately, it was very hard for me not to overpower the student leaders, especially because I did not agree with a lot of the things they were doing. I kept having to remind myself that I cannot be biased because I am no longer "on" the team; I'm just a facilitator.

I'm planning on visiting and helping remotely whenever my team needs me, but I am going to put my college stuff first. When I graduate, I'll think about becoming a serious contributor to the team, but until then, I'm going to volunteer the time I do have to help out my team.

So, to answer your question, I think you should volunteer your time to help a FIRST team if there's one near your college. It's a wonderfully rewarding experience, but make sure you can handle your college coursework.