Students Graduating to Mentors

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Team 1787 has a new situation to contend with for next year. When the team was formed, it was primarily made of sophomores. Now, we're graduating seniors, and because few others have joined the team, most of the team will be gone. We're already working with the younger members to try and pass on as much knowledge as we can, but it's difficult because there are only about four of them. I wish we were not so short on people, because we could've actually taught them everything we know during the past build seasons if there weren't so much to do.

There are a few upsides, though. First, I'm going to college nearby (Case Western Reserve University), so I'll be around for occasional consulting. Second, our captain discovered that his winter break next year is basically all of January, so he'll be home and free to mentor during 2/3 of the build season. Third, all of us will be at the kickoff with the team, since it's in early January and we'll all be home.

The thing that I feel best about is that the four members who are not graduating are more enthusiastic than most of the people graduating. They don't have the experience, but they want to learn, and want to work (which means they'll gain the experience). This year, they did something we've never been able to do (because no one sticks around after school for robotics after the season ends, unfortunately). Already, they have started building an experimental drivetrain (well, it's 4WD, but we've never used it before) in order to work out bugs and have something ready for next year.