Posted by Erin. [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]
Student on team #1, The Juggernauts, from Oakland Technical Center-Northeast Campus and 3-Dimensional Services.
Posted on 4/12/2000 11:30 AM MST
What a year.
At Oakland Technical Center this year, we got our MTA program really up and rolling. We also bonded to form the Institute of Engineering, Design and Rapid Fabrication Technology.
This has been the 4th year of our school’s partnership with 3-Dimensional Services (3rd year as The Juggernaut). Wow, what an outstanding partnership! 3-D once again helped us build and outstanding robot with some outstanding features and, as always, tweaked our interests into the world of engineering. Being able to work one-on-one with some of our companies’ top engineers inspired many students on our team. We are sending students out into the workplace this summer with more skills gained because of FIRST and our team, and I know, personally, that the skills I have learned will come in handy with whatever I end up doing.
Last year we won the national championship and this year we were a finalist for the Chairman’s award (and we also built a really awesome robot!). We also have gotten one of the best teachers most of us have ever had (Mike McIntyre, who consistently keeps proving to us that he IS the coolest teacher alive) and we have been here to witness the success of others around us (Mike Vezzetti, scholarship award recipient of Drexel University). We have matured and have had the experience of learning from the past (Justin ‘mithser’ Howard and Jessica Gordon, former members and current advisors) and we have had the expereince of knowing that TEACHERS DO CARE ABOUT US NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE ACT UP (big thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Rice- how do they do it?). We have made long lasting friendships with those on and off our team (Huskie Brigade- some of our closest buddies- both at competition and in real life) and we have seen that engineering is one of the funnest jobs ever (Andy who rocks at football and Kevin- our engineers, two really great guys who love us alot and know how to have fun). And even if it is an engineer who isn’t at competition, we could noticebly see how much they enjoyed working one-on-one with us (Ed Croswell). We have learned new and valuable skills outside of hands-on engineering (Jeremy Jacob and Josh Davis, first year 3-D Max designers who did an AWESOME job with Justin Howard, Mike Vezzetti and Tom Stanis on our video) and through skills we already know, we have been able to thuroughly prove ourselves to others (Bret Darling, Gary Washington, Chris MacKenzie and Billy Keller who all have displayed great aptitude with engineering). Our team isn’t just about the boys; the girls, even though small by number, can overpower even them sometimes (Erin Lape and Yendelela Lee, who are just absolutely wonderful leading spirits). We have those who can make us laugh (Jake Gilles, Jeremy Jacob, ‘the’ Rick Crivella, James White, Bret Darling-their WHOLE hotel room) and those who can ‘almost give the adults a heart-attack’ (Mike Vezzetti, Ben Smith and James White, our driving team).
This year, the people who spent COUNTLESS SLEEPLESS NIGHTS working on the Chairman’s vid got some powerful recognition of their own (me, James White and ‘the’ Rick Crivella) and it payed off even more when our students were so enthusiastic in the pit area (THANKS TO MY WHOLE TEAM WHO FINISHED THE OTHER HALF OF THE PUZZLE).
We have those who show us just how beneficial coming back to the team after graduation is (coach Aaron Bellore) and we have those who show us how much they want to return for their remaining 3 more years (Marc Hofmeister, Ben Smith, Tom Stanis, Billy Keller)and those who really want to come back 3 more years even if they aren’t in high school (James White, Rick Crivella, Gary Washington, Marvin Calhoun, Yendelela Lee, Erin Lape, Josh Davis, Bret Darling, Chris MacKenzie). We have those who show us WHY we need to get our jobs done in a timely manner (Yendelela Lee and Tom Stanis- who try so hard to have all of those assessments done and in order) Last but not least, we have those, who don’t really do the ‘engineering’ thing, but join our team to help out with whatever they can- even if all they really love to do is cook (Marvin ‘Chef’ Calhoun).
My team is awesome. From one another we learn, love, laugh, live, and lead ourselves down a bright path into a bright future. This team does not let members leave without footprints running rampant throughout their memory. I wish that I, personally, could have been involved longer with this team or even this competition. It has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done, and nothing makes me more proud than being able to be the team captain of team number one. So you have heard my sob story, tell me yours!
-erin, proud member of team one