Why did you join FIRST?

[mtaman02]

I joined in FIRST b/c it looked kind of cool when my H.S. was talking about their team.

I satyed in FIRST b/c to this day is still is cool and I enjoy seeing how creative kids can get AND I also enjoy using my time helping FIRST and seeing everyone happy and smiling =)

[Rabbit222]

I was forced to go to a meeting during the off-season of my freshman year. It was the Monday before the Ramp Riot Competition. And so when I got to the event, I saw robots beating the heck out of Rubbermaid boxes......AWESOME!!! I was hooked from that point. I had a very successful, and inspiring career in FIRST. I regret nothing!!

[jennifer_1547]

I got involved in FIRST because it was something different. I have never really been interested in anything mechanical but I thought i should try something new. I joined thinking I would just do it for a year because I thought I would totally dislike it. After going through the process I realized that I enjoyed it very much, and that I wanted to continue doing it. I met TONS of new people my first year and I experienced so many things which I wouldn't have experienced if it wasn't for joining my schools robotics team. I am now into my second year on the team and I'm enjoying every second of my experience!

[NorviewsVeteran]

Originally Posted by Lydia Johnston

FIRST has significantly and unexpectedly changed my life. =)

Welcome to the club

[Stephen Kowski]

I went to a meeting where they told me I got 3 days excused absence for each competition we went too, we were attending two that year

10 years later I'm starting to think I got the raw end of the deal....oh well

[Katie_UPS]

Originally Posted by Stephen Kowski

I went to a meeting where they told me I got 3 days excused absence for each competition we went too, we were attending two that year

10 years later I'm starting to think I got the raw end of the deal....oh well

While my sister had graduated and my brother continued the team, the other reason (besides seeing compitition) that I really wanted to go was missing school. My brother missed a bit (not alot, but enough) and I was jealous.

[EricH]

I never did get the missing school part... Just some rescheduled assignments. The good one was when my family took a 2-week road trip up the East Coast after Atlanta 2004, and when I came back (after missing a full chapter of science), I found I did one extra lab for said science class... Can you say "extra credit"?

Then again, that may have a lot to do with the school's structure. Somehow, I tended to get my robotics trips counted as field trips.

[Greg Peshek]

During 7th and 8th grade I built 12lb combat robots for local competitions. By myself, on my own dime, out of my own garage. When I got to high school I saw a flyer for a FIRST Robotics club. I went to the meeting and as soon as I found out I got to work with real drill presses, build a robot 10 x the size I was building now, and most importantly of all... get to build on someone else's money. I was in. Now I'm in my senior year and I get to use our machine shop and spare parts to build my robots along with building the FIRST robots. It's a great deal.

[fusionpitcher54]

Let's see.. it was this September when my math teacher came up to me and said "you are a ver smart girl and your talents should be put to use. This stuff is too easy for you." I then told him how he was seeing the wrong things and that really, I didn't need extra math homework. That was when robotics was suggested. I watched a few videos and the animation for 2008. I liked it and realized that this could be my place. Bribed with a few extra credit points in my coaches' classes, I joined and would do it even without the extra credit now I realized how many friends I could make and with people that all have the same interests as me

[synth3tk]

I was in a fairly new school since my family had just moved, I had no extra-curricular activities, and they had a not-so-convincing morning PA announcement about a robotics meeting. I like computers, figured I'd give it a try.

That was the best decision I've made during my HS years.

[shgshgshgshg]

My first robotic experience was a year ago. A friend of mine didn't want to go to the club, because she didn't know anyone who was in it, So i told her that I would go with her to the first meeting. That was my first robotic experience. At the time we only had one BEST team, and it lasted only one semester. I fell in love with robotics, and stayed on the team even though my friend wasn't able to make it. A year later we were doing BEST again, and midway through the BEST season we figured out we could get a grant from Boeing and just like that the FIRST team (original named the Jones's) was born. The Sunday after kickoff we decided to revise the team name and Identity and I suggested we change it to Mad ROC (short for madison robotics) Then we extended the roc to rockers for a clearer team identity. and just like that The Mad Rockers were born.

[robocritter250]

I was in 5th grade when FIRST changed my life.

My family was sitting at the dinner table eating, and my big brother uttered the phrase "Mom, Dad, there's this team at school and they build robots, and.. I think I want to join." Little did we know that this was a life altering statement for our ENTIRE family.

I was too young to be left home alone so I got to tag along. I hated it at first because I had no idea what was going on. Then I went to SBPLI in 2000, and it was so cool. I still had no idea what was going on but I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

I spent the next 3 years watching my parents mentor, and my brother build, going to competition after competition.

When I became a freshman, I "officially" joined the team, not that anybody knew the difference.

10 years later my parents are still mentoring, my brother and I have both come all the way through the program and we now both mentor, and volunteer at the Finger Lakes Regional.

I am grateful for the opportunity FIRST has given my family and me, to not only become closer as a unit, but to meet such amazing people and be involved in such a unique experience. With out FIRST I would have never had the opportunity to meet my best friend from team 103 and all of my other friends from around the world.

[Storcky]

I first heard about FIRST briefly mentioned at a student council meeting my freshman year and promptly forgot about it. Several weeks later, one of my best friends told me that she had gone to a meeting and that she was the only girl. She dragged me to the next meeting and I've been hooked ever since.

I was safety captain for all 4 years and then became one of the head student programmers. Now I'm at Bucknell University studying Computer Science and Engineering and hoping to start up a Lewisburg team soon!

[StephLee]

^^ I was the best friend that made Storcky join.

I was recruited by a teacher at my school. It sounded like fun, and I was a highly optimistic freshman; I was in way over my head but I just assumed I'd catch up eventually. I did, but I miss that optimism; I'm not sure where it went.

I was a coach for all four years, and I think that's what really got me hooked. It helped me develop into a much better communicator and leader, and was a large part of how I got to where I am now.

[DiehardCybercard]

I think I blame part of my interest in FIRST on lego. I always loved legos and when my parents found out about mindstorms they purchased one for me. back in my middle school years I was in boy scouts. The troop was made up of kids who were in the perry and southport areas of Indianapolis and the troop decided to make a field trip up to Purdue the last year I decided to stay in the troop. That year was Triple Play. When I watched the matches on that Saturday i fell in love.

By time I was a freshman the interest in robotics had had plenty of time to cultivate. I had no clue what FIRST was, no clue what it took to put a robot together, and no sense of what I was getting into. All I knew was that I liked watching them, and I wanted to put one together. When my school (1529) had an orientation like event for people interested, I was the first person to sign up to go.

From the day I went to my first meeting I've been loving it since.

I know know FIRST is much more than robots, but robots are what caught my interest. They are a great tool for learning and I am glad I am a part of a generation that has this opportunity.