A couple of weeks ago, our high school football team won the state championship. Many of us on the robotics team were extremely happy and supported our fellow classmates on their monumental accomplishment. However, seeing our community’s reaction in comparison to how it reacted when 4607 won the Minnesota State Championship for robotics in 2013, soon became an eye opener.
On the Friday of the game, we had a pepfest/send off for the team, who was allowed to skip classes for a team breakfast and other preparations deemed necessary. As for the remainder of the student body, a handful of them were excused from school early to allow for more time to get down to the stadium for the game. By comparison, our robotics team has yet to persuade the administration to allow us to attend more than one regional event since the administration counters that we would miss too much school.
After winning the state championship, the whole football team was escorted into town by police cars and firetrucks where they were welcomed by a community-wide, late night party on the football field. After winning the state championship for robotics, we felt more akin to an afterthought being that we barely earned a walk through the halls during the week after our accomplishment.
Now admittedly, Becker, Minnesota unanimously defines itself as a football town. Robotics is a new extracurricular that many people within the community (and administration) oppose for political reasons. I understand that people believe we need to prove ourselves as an organization before we get certain privileges that are offered to the football team. However, despite this, it continues to be a frustrating situation.
I actually played for the Becker’s football team last year, and I have many friends on the team this year. It is important to note that I am not at all resentful toward the team itself. I suppose my disappointment is more focused on the community’s neglect to prioritize and continually support more than just our football program. My hope is that, with time, this might begin to change, and that people will begin to realize precisely how important FIRST Robotics is for young individuals and our society alike.
Thankfully, we are off to a good start. Our rookie year of FRC, our team had 24 students. Now, we have 60 kids who plan on joining this year, which is uncharted territory for not only robotics, but also almost every other activity in Becker, excluding football. We clearly have substantial student support, but community-wide support is still being questioned as I have previously stated.
More than anything, this situation has made me think extensively about FIRST’s mission of changing the culture through its robotics programs, starting with one community at a time. I feel as though I now understand and support the reasoning behind this mission statement on a more personal level. Have any other teams experienced something similar to this situation? How do other communities react to FRC programs?
The FIRSTers that are entering the school systems as teachers, industry as engineers, researchers in academia, accountants, small business owners, marketing professionals, media content creators, innovators (and all the others) are just starting to make strides as they transform into industry leaders, school administrators, and highly-sought-out employees. This is one of the reasons why Dean’s message this past year was that FIRST needs to do a better job of tracking its participants. You’d be amazed at how powerful one email asking for help and support can be.