How FIRST has affected you?

[Melissa Nute]

For one, it taught me what a burning motor smells like which has helped me in both my job with machinery and at home with a washing machine I also developed many beneficial mechanical abilities that I wouldn't have been exposed to otherwise.

FIRST provided me with the jump start to my interests in Mechanical Engineering. Before FIRST, I wanted to patent law or be an architect. I made sure I worked hard throughout high school to allow myself to get a decent package to college (WPI) and I'm now a Mechanical Engineer for large consumer goods company.

FIRST has also caused me to have some of my most defining relationships with friends and mentors. Although some of those friendships have faded, they still helped me become who I am today.

[BQuennell]

Quite a personal thread isn't this? Funny how much FIRST really has changed almost anyone who enters the challenge.

For me, FIRST has done a number of things, it took my simple interest in electronics from my freshman class to a whole new level and by the next year I was working with both friends I’d known for years and friends I met on the spot on a challenge that I never knew I could face. FIRST gave me the inspiration to try to become a better student in my studies. I learned about how to meet a deadline (and stall if you don't make it).

When I graduated from my high school this last year I picked up a job working as a camp councilor over the summer, it gave me plenty of time to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Try to spend a month without so much as a roof over your head and you tend to yearn for some kind of comfort from home, but for a FIRST junkie like me, the only thing I really missed was FIRST. Helping kids make tye-dye shirts made me think of the great time I had doing robot inspections in Atlanta this last year and meeting the great team, Wildstangs. Figuring out why a dishwasher wont run made me think of all the times I got to trace the wires on our electrical system to make sure everything was running smoothly and honestly, without having done the electrical for 3 years, I don't know if that thing would have ever gotten fixed.

It really is incredible what FIRST can do for you and really, enjoy it as much as you can. Meet complete strangers from the other side of the country or even the world, and realize that all over the place, people share your passion, and there really is nothing better than being able to hang out and root for each others team or help out if something goes wrong. FIRST is an amazing organization, it's almost impossible to compare it to other groups because it is just so different in its message and in its spirit than anything else out there. A group that actually inspires a lazy teen to get into college like myself really can never be described properly as anything else but brilliant.

[Allison]

My first year in FIRST was as a junior in high school in 2003, I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduate, maybe computer but I wasn't sure. I spent those two years of high school learning how to be a leader which I would be surprised at how important that was later on.

FIRST has taken me in many directions, I am in my last semester at Purdue about ready to graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) thanks to FIRST I picked a degree I love.

The pros of FIRST for me where that it gave me leadership skills, showed me what degree I wanted, and as a mentor let me bring a lot of joy to a rookie team.

The cons were that FIRST to me was as stated by others was a drug. I love FIRST but I made many sacrifices for it, even this year as a senior when I am in "retirement" I will be working at the regionals and I usually answer email within an hour or two. I have seen as a mentor the good, the bad, and the ugly side FIRST and have been amazed at what it takes to run a team I have a lot more respect for mentors now.

The commitment for those first two years was large but I wouldn't trade those many sleepless nights and the tears shed we shed for anything.

[Mike Harrison]

I have dreams about .... ROBOTS!!! how freaking weird is that? that is, when I actually get sleep because that's pretty sparse during build. Oh and also all that emotional stuff about changing my life and other stuff. But in all seriousness, thankyou FIRST for the most fun I've ever had in my life, not to mention the most brain stimulation, and the dirtiest greasiest hands I've ever had. Oh, and my girlfriend, almost forgot

[Jimmy Cao]

Wow, How has FIRST affected me? That's a loaded question...

I've been involved in FIRST activities since the 7th grade... when I joined FLL. For me, FLL was a passion, and I loved attending meetings and going to the competitions.

Well, high school came, and i joined my school's FRC team, and I am so glad I did... Robotics has since then become my life. It's not uncommon for me to go to meetings for >40 hours in a week, and i enjoy every minute of that. During this last build season, I missed 0 days >.< and still had sooooooo much fun! For me, FIRST is more than a club, it's valuable real life experience, and it's a fun way to get that out to students.

I think FIRST has taught me more about practical applications of what I have learned (in school and otherwise) than anything else ever has, and more than anything else probably every will!

[September]

I made many good friends through FIRST.

Although, the program itself? I picked up some things here and there, but I can't say it inspired me to pursue engineering.

[Libby K]

In order for me to post on this thread I'd need a lot of free time to write out all my thoughts.

FIRST has introduced me to amazing people, it's set me up for a career path I'm interested in, and it has become my life. I don't consider that a con. (My non-FIRST friends do, though...)

I've been going to events since I was teeny tiny, but since starting my own team and joining CD I have come in contact with the best people you could ever meet. Mentors, students, parents- all of them helping me and inspiring me to be the best I can. I have traveled all over the country for FIRST, and the traveling has introduced me to new experiences- some good, and some bad. (Greyhound buses? Never again.) All of them have shaped me to become who I am. I have never regretted a second I have ever spent at a FIRST event or with the people I've met because of FIRST.

I think my experiences can be summed up in my answer to a FIRST Student Survey we received at the NJ regional:
(paraphrased- I don't remember what I actually wrote)

How has FIRST changed your life?
-It hasn't. Being involved in FIRST from a young age, I have seen the value of the program. FIRST became my life and it is hard for me to imagine life without it. I wouldn't actually know how it has changed me because I never really experienced high school without FIRST.


I will probably come back to this thread- but Study Hall is over.
FIRST is great. Enough said.

[FF_1610_EMT]

Being apart of FIRST has taught me alot of things and i've met alot of people through FIRST. I've been out of school for two years now and I still talking about being apart of a team and going to the competitions. If I wasn't deployed overseas to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom right now I would probably be at the NASA/VCU Regional cheering on my old team, Team 1610, or there as a mentor to another team that isn't that far from where my home station is.

[Martinez]

I actually waited a long while to post on this threat. FIRST carries with it a lot of mixed emotional and psychological baggage that honestly I don’t know how to respond. All I do know is it drives me to new levels of adventure, inspiration, motivation and encouragement.

A little history:
I’m a Military Brat, seven different schools before I graduated
I’ve was always that social outcast, maybe one or two friends at best.
I’m an Eagle Scout, driven to do my best at helping others.
My school never had a FIRST team.

How it’s affected me:
I went to Clarkson largely because Robotics sounded really cool.
Just months out the gate, 15 passenger van accident (2001), two people died.
We didn’t quit, and I couldn’t imagine quitting without dishonoring that memory.
Sophomore year I almost failed out of Engineering, lack of ability and passion.
We went to Nats, I was just floor board by the shear number of teams.
Pressed on with new hope, I would get two degrees: in Engineering & Physics
Graduated, went to Lockheed in Binghamton area, hired I’m sure cause of FIRST.
For two years, I’ve tried building a team at this site, still no luck.
Joined Chuck (2006) and I still look to them as an extended fam.

FIRST has been a lot of Joy, Pain and Sorrow. Really it was the first place I ever felt I belonged. I have no fear of being shy amongst the people, and just want to get to know everyone. The environment is just so… infectious. More that that though, I look to this organization as the next millennium BSA, the values and foundations, and work to be accomplished is incredibly… solid. One thing is for certain though: my mission in life will not feel complete until every school in America has the opportunity to be involved in this program.

Regardless of out come or personal sacrifice it’s an incredible moral responsibility that I take to heart and will do my damnness to succeed at what ever the final shape.

That’s what FIRST has done to me.



Now if only FIRST was more like the real world.
I'm incredably tired of the walking Dilbert commercial around here.

[colin340]

first made me see that there's more to life than $$ it's more about your impact on others
i saw how much i liked teaching others on my team i made me want to become a teacher it also made me think more about life and less about short term stuff it made me see that it's ok to be wrong

[scott]

FIRST has had a huge impact on me. I was a good/above average student in high school, but not that high level needed to get all of the great scholarships out there. I was a student leader in our machine shop for 3 of my 4 years. I got the attention of a Engineer on our team, and after our last competition in 2006 he gave me an offer for an internship. Without FIRST, I probably wouldn't be going for my Mechanical Engineering Degree, nor have a good-paying job that takes care of my college costs.
Also, if it hadn't been for the wonderful mentors on 447, like Dan Newby, that taught me so much I wouldn't be where I am today.

[waiakea2024]

Originally Posted by MiniNerd24

There isn't enough space on this forum to explain how this organization has affected me.

This explains my experience in full detail ^.^

FIRST has changed my life drastically, to keep it short and simple so everyone isnt sitting here till next week reading it, FIRST has changed me from very introverted to mostly extroverted. Im not afraid to take on challenges or just be downright silly. I have also been infected by the curse of, you come in knowing nothing, and I am like a sponge, hopefully i will leave with something more.

All in all...GO FIRST!!!

[SL8]

The wheels come full circle, and I have my own experience, which is in harmony with many of the previous post. I have always been the first one done with my assignments, and unfazed or joyed at finding I recieved a 100 on my final. School was boring and had been for several years. That's why I had decided to attend Shoemaker, for the robotics team. Being an active participant and only programmer on the team has been a challenge, and I find challenges rather rare and enjoyable.There was always something that needed to be figured out.

But more important than my own enjoyment of the challenges posed by this year, are the skills I've been forced to learn while on the team. Interpersonal, team effort, and Gracious Professionalism are just some of the values and skills I learned.

More than anything else in the world, FIRST challenged my mind, and I found I still have so much more to learn.I hope to continue participating in FIRST even after I graduate, and hope to help make true the mission of FIRST.

-Jesus

[Chris Herold]

Well, I wrote a quite detailed post on my experience in FIRST in one thread. I just give you the link, rather than copying the whole thing:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...light=exchange

Some of my team mates just call it "the essay"


Chris

[matt.winkler]

FIRST has been, by and far, the largest impact on my life. When I was involved in FIRST during my junior and senior years of high school, I learned more about teamwork than I believe any sport could have taught me. I also learned how important deadlines are and made more friends than I know what to do with. The majority of my longest running friendships have been through FIRST. As a high schooler, I looked up to the college students who were our mentors and they are now some of my best friends. I have also become very close with the advisors to our college students. Throughout the years, all of the people from my FIRST team that I looked up to have always been looking out for me and put my best interest at heart.

I went off to work for 7 years and over the past couple of years I have become more actively involved in FIRST again and because of the impact FIRST has had on me, I am now back in school and working toward a degree in secondary education in math and computer science. I realized through mentoring that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE working with students and finding a way to get them interested in math, science, and technology. Seeing the enthusiasm of so many students who may have never found a sport or activity that they were interested in is dumbfounding each and every time, not just the first time you see it. As a mentor to the students, I continually try to befriend them like my mentors did for me. I want them to feel warmth and acceptance from our team the second they walk through a door and realize that a team is truly about becoming a family. While I may have originally thought that I wanted to be an engineer, I now hope that some day I can become a teacher and promote FIRST to a school in a way they never thought imaginable.