Castilleja mourns loss of robotics mentor
Posted 02/18/2010 11:34AM
The Robotics team is mourning the loss of their long-time mentor and friend Doug Bourn whose plane crashed on Wednesday morning in East Palo Alto. Doug started mentoring the team in its first year (2004) when he worked at IDEO. Even though he left IDEO, he continued to put in long hours helping the team while an engineer at Tesla. Doug was a calming force for the team through all of their ups and downs and was always present at local competitions to cheer the team on. He was an extremely kind person with a passion for fostering the joy of engineering in young women. His loss will be especially felt during these last six days before the robot is shipped on Tuesday.
The Castilleja community extends its condolences to the Bourn family.
I’m very sorry to hear this news of the terrible accident involving the plane carrying Tesla engineers. My heart goes out to all of you. Gatorbotics, your blog posts are beautiful and capture your spirit and that of your beloved mentor, Doug Bourn, in ways that we can all appreciate and understand. I’m glad that you were there to brighten his days and that his mentoring was appreciated by all of you.
Yet another reminder to us mentors to impress upon our students a desire to make their mark on the world, as you never know when it will be too late. By impressing upon them to make their marks, we will have made ours.
We remember those that died young. Those who dreamed of a better tomorrow, and strived to achieve nothing but the best for themselves, their students, and the world at large. They will not, and must not, be forgotten.
I personally never met or had any contact with 1700 or their late mentor, however, I’m certain that the FIRST vision was strong in him and his team.
I’m very sorry to hear about this. Losing a mentor, especially in such a manner, is very difficult. From all of us on 1126, we send our condolences to Team 1700, and the Bourn family. Good luck, everyone.