Why did you join FIRST?

[Collin Fultz]

During my freshman year of HS, I had Mr. Steve Wherry for geometry. He was one of the teacher sponsors for team 234. I wasn't on the team, but he spent so much time during second semester (Spring 2001) talking about FIRST, their robot, and the competitions that I was intrigued. He even went so far as to diagram the fabled "710 Match" during one of our classes then show us the video from the webcast. That spring break, my family went on a cruise then hung out in Orlando for a few days. The Saturday before we drove home, my dad took me to see my teacher and the robotics team he had heard some things about at work. I was blown away. As soon as I got home, I convinced my three best friends to apply for the team with me for the next season.

Eight years later, I have a BSME from Purdue with significant help from a Purdue/Delphi/FIRST scholarship, and a full-time position as a system engineer at Rolls-Royce (a sponsor of team 234 and 8 other central Indiana teams), and am back mentoring team 234. The circle of FIRST-life continues. All thanks to an enthusiatic geometry teacher and a father willing to take a chance and do something different with his son.