How FIRST has affected you?

[XXShadowXX]

I joined first this year, im 11th grade.
In a nut shell FIRST can prepare you for anything in life.
If life was like FIRST then we would have no war, translight drive, AI, colonies on; moon, mars, and europa, and CD would be the U.N. I love this organization, and i will most certianly be back as a senor, and a mentor in college.

[RyanJK]

How has FIRST affected me? You really opened a can of worms!

Before FIRST, I was a total anti-social, shy nerd. I wanted high school to end as soon as possible so I could get a pilots licensce and work for an airline. I heard about FIRST when my tech ed teacher announced in class that our school was starting a team. I went to the meeting and it was love at FIRST sight!

Now FIRST is a drug! I c an't get enough! I stayed after school every day to work on the robot and then went to the regional. I put all my effort into the robot, and I was loving every minute of it!

Not only has FIRST taught me millions of new skills and increased my understanding of math and science, it also changed me socially. I am now very outgoing and social. Gracious Professionalism really affected me and I try to live by its ideals daily.

Overall, FIRST changed me significantly, and I'm now nothing like I used to be. I now want to go into aerospace engineering!

And I have to mention, the countless McDonalds and Mountain Dew meals, sleepless nights, stressful days, and class periods spent calculating gear ratios really changed me too!

[Herodotus]

Although first hasn't pushed me into following a career in engineering it has still affected me greatly. For one, it gave me a much greater confidence in myself, allowed me to develop friendships with people I might not otherwise have, and has given me he chance to interact with people from all over the country(and even the world.) IT has also given me plenty of leadership and teaching experience. It has also directly affected where I am going to college. If it wasn't for Chief Delphi, I probaly never would have heard about Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

So in summary, how has FIRST affected me? By making me into who I am today. I blame FIRST for everything good that has happened to me.

[Renee Becker-Blau]

FIRST is the best thing that ever happened to me.

I got involved with FIRST in 2003. My best friend was on a FLL team and I volunteered at one of the events. I volunteered again in 2004 and 2005, and I also was able to attend the FRIST VEX Competition in "05". Later that year I started High School and played in the first year of the Milwaukee VEX League as a member of team 1675. I built my own VEX robot, wired, and drove it that year.

In 2006 I started my first year of FRC. I was really excited to be part of a team, to meet new friends, and I would do anything I could that year. I did some animation, CNC, Welding, normal building, wrote WF, Drove the robot (eek!), and did the website and media for the year. I was part of everything so I could see what I really wanted to do. Freshman year after build season I was voted in for captain and that was where I really thrived. I learned to organize, communicate, create, and lead a team.

2007 I was able to branch out some more. I wrote Kevin K's Woodie Flowers that won in Milwaukee (he's really inspired me in the FIRST program and I thank him for it). I also wrote chairmans, and organized demos and did some media again. I learned that I loved to sit down and write or run around with a camera taking pictures and capturing a moment. As a joke Kevin mentioned once that it would be great if there was a Mentor VEX program, so 3 other friends and I created on that summer and held the competition in September.

It wasn't until this year that I realized how much FIRST has taught me. 2008, was the best year for the team so far and I am so proud of everyone. We didn't make it to Atlanta, and when we didn't I realized something about FIRST. FIRST is huge, and full of amazing people. There are people in FIRST that go above and beyond what is needed of them, reaching new heights, and inspiring so many students. This year I learned that I want to be one of those people that runs a regional, mentors a team, and starts up new teams because I've been given this opportunity to be a part of the FIRST community, and I want to give others that opportunity. FIRST isn't just a 4 month event for me anymore, it's a way of life that's changed me into who I am today.

FIRST has made me want to grow up and inspire students, just like the mentors and people in FIRST do for me now. So THANK YOU SO MUCH for the FIRST program, because I don't think I could fit in so well anywhere else.

Renee

[matt.winkler]

Originally Posted by Herodotus

I blame FIRST for everything good that has happened to me.

I love that quote and I think that, like you, so many people can say that same thing. It is an amazing thing to be able to say about an organization.

[Stephi Rae]

I too, love that quote! ^^ It is true for me as well.

I consider FIRST my best mistake. It has affected me in such an amazing way! Before FIRST, I was a diehard athlete. Any time I could get into a competition was a good time for me. I thrive on being able to throw myself into something and give it everything I have. To work as hard as I can and leave it all on the field/court. Many times this was a hazard to my health or life (MRSA [should have died, respiratory arrest and coma], 3 concussions, mutilated appendages, etc) but I just kept going back. I wanted to be able to work my hardest, for the benefit of others as well as myself and to accomplish something. FIRST helped me realize that sports don't accomplish anything. I didn't realize this until late last year (1983's and my rookie year). I was headed to yet another training session for soccer. It was dark and I pulled into the parking lot and couldn't get out of the car. I had left a robotics meeting very early to get to training on time, and I just couldn't justify it to myself anymore. I turned the car back on, and drove back to the meeting. Robotics has been top priority ever since.

I realized with robotics I was actually accomplishing something. I was learning new skills, and leadership, and I was becoming more outspoken and confident in my ideas.

I year later I look back and have no regrets, other than not have realizing this all sooner. Because of FIRST I know what I want to do with my life, I know that I can make a difference, and I know that I want to help other students discover FIRST so it can make a difference in their lives too. FIRST is also going to pay for school! I just recieved a full-tuition scholarship to WPI! FIRST will forever be a part of my life. Here's to FIRST, everything it stands for, and what it means to those of us that make it what it is: AMAZING.

[zachjo]

becuase of FIRST I wanted to go to college early becuase the college is where the robotics meeetings and build happen. Now I can get in on all the action whenever it happens here.

[Bomberofdoom]

Got me addicted.

Every end of the season (exactly after the matches), I say to myself: That's it, no more FIRST for me.

The following day I say, who am I kidding? I'm gonna' be next year, just I'm not gonna' be as supportive as I was before

Then at the next FIRST meeting (or when it's when I meet FIRST friends), I say to myself, Heck, next year is gonna' be our best year and we're gonna' win it if we do this and that, and I don't want to miss being a part of it, and then I start volunteering for being charge of off-season stuff.

FIRST also made me quite popular (negative and postive, but I take all the negatives as positives). All the FLL kids at school...well, I guess they..admire me (literaly, these guys just stick to me every day only wanting to talk about their FRC team next year!), I've got lots of friends from other teams in FIRST who know me (some that I don't even know myself ).

FIRST taught me that being geek is ok. Geek is one letter from Greek, which those guys were guinsses those days.............

um...yeah, some were proven wrong with their thoeries, but still...

Anyway, Because of FIRST, I'm not just Nir.

I'm "Nir the CEO".

[freaky_dork88]

although i have only been in robotics since build, i have come to realize that nothing will take the place of FIRST. it has affected me by giving me a few big brothers(Joe, Jowii, Francis, and well Angel i guess too), it has given me a new appreciation for fizzy soda(thanks to mr. gregory, we had cheap soda that was only fizzy for about an hour and it was never gone by then but saved til tomorrow because we all knew that we were going to be up at the school), i have realized that anything with robots on it is cute, that i will probably always have the urge to fix stuff, no matter if it is a papertowel holder at a mexican restaruant, which would have been so much easier to do with a phillips head screwerdriver, i will always want to know how something works and will not stop until i find out how, i see a sign for definsive driving and know that thats not allowed in the competion and that you will get a penalty for it, i will always make a farting noise with the hand dryers that blow really hard and make sure i get the good ice cream and that will does not make it for me, i will always look for lemony switches at radio shack, i will always know how to use all of the machines in the shop, i will always have a 7/16 wrench with purple duct tape on it no matter what, i will always think that acu pants are the most nifty pants for they have 8 roomy pockets on them and that both of my parents are lucky to get to wear them everyday, i will always laugh when i see a trailer hitch, and i will never forget how to chain anything(lord chain and captian zip tie......UNITE)

[Mike M.]

I have often wondered how FIRST has affected me and kept asking myself why I kept on doing it for a number of years. Finally this year I'm able to say why.

After spending a number of years on a team as a student who started out as a shy quiet kid who didn't really get involved in team meetings to who I graduated high school as a team leader not afraid to get in there and take charge of a project, and that was going on to school for mechanical engineering.

But this year, my first year as a mentor I discovered why I had stuck around all these years. I was able to see from a mentors perspective how the students are all there coming together to work as a team regardless of if they are friends or not. This right there told me that I was in this because I wanted to see other kids who started out like me shy not knowing what to do with their life turn into confident strong people ready to get out there and make the world a better place for everyone to live in.

In short FIRST gave me a direction in which to go with my life made me realize how fun engineering could be. It also gave me the confidence in myself to get up in front of anyone and do whatever is needed of me whether that be a presentation in school or going to talk to a room full of engineers about FIRST. I also learned why the mentors stick around for many years even after they have no connection with sponsors or students on the team. Just seeing the looks on the teams face when they get to that first regional and see their creation out on the field competing and seeing all the other designs that the other teams have come up with.


MikeM.