The Transition

FIRST General Forum
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Posted by Kate.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]

Engineer on team #190, Gompei, from Mass Academy of Math and Science and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Posted on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST

Quite some time back… We were having discussions about the transition from high school FIRST to college FIRST… Now that at least a few of us have gone through this transition… Why don’t we bring it up again…

Personally… I didn’t have much of a transition to make during the 6 weeks… My transition time came at the actual competitions… You all know me… I’m always around visiting everyone… I’ve been doing that for the past 4 years… I get to this team… And they have no idea if I’m really part of the team or not… I just did my normal thing this year of scouting and visiting all my friends… I mean, I still spent time with my own team… But this team I guess you’re somewhat expected to be with them 24/7 or something of the sort…

Competition was different this year… Maybe it’s cuz I can’t call just one team ‘my team’ truthfully in my heart or in my mind right now… I’m no longer part of my old team anymore… I set them in the right direction and moved on now… I’m not truely part of the team I’m on now because they haven’t gotten used to the way I am at competition yet… You remember all the body paint last year… I did my face for half a day this year and got funny looks from my team… But I guess that’s what I get for going to a tech school that sponsors a small math and science high school…

Now, don’t get me wrong… I absolutely loved the competition like usual… But it was just different… And I know of a couple people that agree with me… For some of the same reasons…

So since I don’t truly feel like I belong to any one team… I’m going to make a team fit me… My buddy Jon and I are in the process of coming up with something so the team has a structure for next year… And it just so happens that we’re near the top of it… I have NO idea how that happened… innocent grin But back to the point… If Jon and I can pull this off… Then I will almost definitely be able to call this team mine… And if not, then I don’t know what’s going to happen…

So, please… Share what you think of all this… :slight_smile:

Kate
Team 190
Formerly Team 166
Adopted Teams: too many to list… :slight_smile:

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Posted by Andy Grady.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]

Coach on team #42, P.A.R.T.S, from Alvirne High School and Daniel Webster College.

Posted on 4/14/2000 1:41 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

I have just finished my second year away from home with a different team. And I know how Kate is feeling. For me, it took time to adjust to my new team, seeing my old team compete without me was very awkward. Seeing them win a regional without me almost hurt. However, these last two years with team 42 have been two of the best years of the six I have been in the program. I have learned alot from my experiences with PARTS. Though the transition is not easy, if you stick it out, you may have something special. Not only did I learn alot about engineering in general, but I also have become friends with some of the greatest bunch of kids I have ever known. And the best feeling in the world came when I found out that my efforts were making an impact on someone elses life. The fact that just 2 years ago I was a high school student in the program being inspired by some of the best people I have ever known, and now here I am, doing the inspiring for the students on my team, is amazing. To Kate and every other college student or college student to be, if you work hard and really try to get these kids involved, you will find out as I did that the most worthwhile thing in this program is yet to come.
Good Luck,
Andy Grady, DWC/Alvirne HS

3

Posted by Anton Abaya.

Student on team #419, Rambots, from UMass Boston / BC High and NASA, Mathsoft, Solidworks.

Posted on 4/14/2000 4:44 PM MST

In Reply to: Adjusting to the Transition posted by Andy Grady on 4/14/2000 1:41 PM MST:

I particularly did not feel that welcome at my old team. I felt there was no room to grow and I figured I was not invited to join any longer.

So, I started my own team. I was able to do things I really wanted to do. I was able to make my whole team happy, and I was able to change the ideals of my team because I was their ‘team leader.’

I changed many views on my team, Rambots. All seniors are welcome to be part of Rambots if they’re in the area. All students can challenge and speak up when they dont like something. All students can show their leadership skills, show their talents, and brag all their talents to everyone on the team. But most of all, I’ve taught them all the value of learning from one another and from those who have a lot of experience.

A model team i’m trying to form here. I want my team to be happy. Even if I have to sacrifice my happiness for everyone else on it.

Next year will be better. Rambots will prevail.

Anton Abaya
Team Leader / Coach / Crazy Nut
RAMBOTS, #419
UMass Boston / BC High School

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Posted by Beccy Rigden (Duct Tape).

Student on team #166 from Merrimack High.

Posted on 4/14/2000 3:19 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

I also felt that this year was different somehow. Although I cannot place it as well as Kate. Pehaps this year I felt much less. . . wanted or something. Perhaps that isn’t the word. Um . . . more like needed. I wasn’t even the weird one on the team this year :-). And from someone who is used to being the odd one out, and liking it, this was hard. I had no special abilities. I was a driver, but we alternated. I was a mascot, but not as well supported as I had been in the past. I wasn’t a fixer of everything. Anything I can do, someone else on the team can do better, or faster. I guess I just felt used up. Perhaps that’s what happens when you are a senior. Who knows. Maybe I’ll have a better experience next year.

beccy co-captain
166 Merrimack NH

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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 4/15/2000 2:57 PM MST

In Reply to: Re: The Transition posted by Beccy Rigden (Duct Tape) on 4/14/2000 3:19 PM MST:

Beccy-

You should be proud that your team has so many talented kids. Everyone does something really well- and just because you aren’t the person who does all of those things really well doesn’t mean you should down yourself. I bet there are one or more things that you do better than ANYONE ELSE on your team.

Last year I joined my team in the middle of January. Our team normally starts in August, so I felt a little out-of-sync. I wasn’t allowed to go to our first regional because the teachers hadn’t gotten to know me well enough yet. I didn’t do anything that year but make a webpage and take a few pictures. Everyone kidof made me feel obsolete. But I knew that the next year I was going to come back with more force than I did the year before, and now I am team captain.

Look at your situation in a positive light and be thankful that you don’t have everything on your shoulders (like alot of people do) and respect those who have outstanding ability to do something. Just don’t let anyone lose faith that you are just as special as everyone else is, too. :slight_smile:

-erin

‘Just because senior year is gone doesn’t mean you can’t still have a blast.’ My friend, Lacey Gray

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Posted by Justin.

Other on team Blue Lightning Alum from RWU sponsored by FIRST-A-holics Anonymous.

Posted on 4/14/2000 4:05 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

Hello All,

Kate’s post got me thinking about my expirence this year. Last year I was a member of Team Bluelightning. Then I left my HS and went off to a college with no FIRST team. But like the true FIRST-A-Holic I found ways to remain involved with FIRST. I worked at the Kickoff in January for the FIRST time and toured Dean’s house. Both incredible expirences that I hadn’t had during my time on the team.

During the few days after Kickoff I worked with Blue Lighting at there brianstorming sessions this time seeing the team with a totally new perspective, from the ‘advisor’ side. Things are much different on the otherside of the fence I will say that. And it only makes me respect what all the teachers and engineers in all of FIRST put into their teams.

When Christmas break was over I returned to college and kept in touch with a few contacts on the team via E-mail. Then I returned to Blue Lightning for ship date and spent almost my entire 3day President’s day weekend at the shop with my good friend Tom and the shop guys, just like old times…only now in theory we were acutally the shop guys.

Next came competitions on the web and I watched all of them I could scream and yelling during the finals I had members of my dorm wondering if I was okay. Finally after what seemed like ages the wait was over I was going to Conneticut to see the game up close. I was anything but dissappointed Blue Lighting came in 2nd to my other favorite Manchester, NH team CHAOS. It was a great comp and I got to spend time with friends who had been a part of FIRST (shout out to Kate :wink:

A week later I was back at college watching the Nationals on the FIRST. This is when not being offically on a team hit me the hardest. For 3 years of HS I had traveled to FL with Blue Lightning for the Nationals. Now…I was forced to watch it in a tiny box on my computer’s desktop…the expirece well it ‘inhaled audibly’. Instead of being there hanging out with all my friends from FIRST (many of whom are new to this year) I was reduced to calling out to myself ‘Hey I know that person!’ It was great to watch the comp. but the Nationals to me have always been about so much more then the actual comp. it’s about the atmosphere that many people that are like me in one place is a great thing, something I missed sorely. Hopefully I will be able to follow through on my vow never to repeat that expirence. I will be in Epcot next year.

I envy those who went to a college with a FIRST team and those with the guts to start a team at their school. Hopefully I will be able to work with the folks from Naval Undersea and be part of a team once again. It was a much difference expinence for me but despite not being on a team I still like to consider myself as having participated in FIRST this year and as part of the difference that FIRST is making in the lives of all 15,000 people at the Epcot areana. And it continues and will continue to make a difference in my life for a long time to come I’ve no doubt.

That was my expirence.

Sincerely,

Justin

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Posted by Nate Smith.

Other on team #66, GM Powertrain/Willow Run HS, from Eastern Michigan University and GM Powertrain.

Posted on 4/14/2000 4:41 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

One thing that I ran across when changing roles…

I was always the type of person on my old team who would see something that needed to be done, and just dive in and do it…once you’re no longer a HS student, that’s not always the best…rather than just getting things done yourself, your role now changes to help show the students that THEY can do it…it’s not always the easiest thing to do, but it can be done…

Nate

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Posted by Lora Knepper.

Student on team #69, HYPER (Helping Youth Pursue Engineering & Robotics), from Quincy Public Schools and The Gillette Company.

Posted on 4/14/2000 5:21 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

I can also completely relate to this, for even now as a junior, I have been pushed to the border of my team. After leading and driving since my freshman year, it seems like I have less to give to my original team, and have started craving something else they cannot give.

This year, I found myself having the mentality that I had to find someone who could take over for me, if you will. I saw in my co-driver this year, what reminded me of my freshman year, and I guess it’s hit me that it’s time to move on.

I’m in the middle of that transition phase Kate talks about. I’ll be in college courses this summer and fall, yet still only entering my senior year in high school. Not to mention torn between 2 very great teams, that are great in 2 very different ways.

I can relate to Becky, being pushed to the side, not seeming to be as needed anymore. As Kate so perfectly put it, ‘I’ve set them in the right direction and moved on now.’ Perhaps it’s not the leap to college that starts this transition, but rather outgrowing what one team can offer.

I have so many teams out there that include me as one of their own, and it’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. (Especially Team 177, the Bobcats, you guys are awesome, thanks for taking me in). But the ties that used to bind me so close to my home team, are beginning to loosen, and I find myself looking to the future.

So who knows, I am not certain who’s jersey I’ll be wearing come kickoff next year…be it Team 69’s or Team 419’s. All I know is that whatever team I’m on, I’ll still be wandering around the pits like Kate, and randomly wearing other team’s shirts while cheering like mad. And no matter what team you are ‘officially’ part of, isn’t the big thing that we are all still in FIRST, and that’s an accomplishment all it’s own.

Lora Knepper
Team 69 (HYPER)
Honorary Bobcat (177)
RAMBOT (419)in the future?..we’ll see

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Posted by colleen.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]

Coach on team #246, a FIRST-aholic, from John D. O’Byrant High School/Boston Latin Academy and NSTAR/Boston University/Wentworth Institute of Technology/MassPEP.

Posted on 4/14/2000 11:38 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

(ok kate… i’m finally finishing it!)

‘There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life.’ -Federico Fellini

so i came to this new team at BU with lots of great expectations- figuring that the hardest part of it all would be keeping my hands of the joysticks after 3 years of driving and many awards stacked up in my favor… whether coach or not, i honestly felt it would be the hardest part…

– ‘In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.’
- Albert Camus –

unfortunately for me- that was the dead easiest… then i thought maybe the different type of team would be hard to adjust to- from a small town team with complete community and sponsor support, tons of volunteers, many kids, a geniunely great team… to a college sponsored team kind of scrounging for money and sponsorship… with a couple kids, a college students, and a few great engineers volunteering their time… but that was easy too… they were some of the best kids i’ve ever met in my life… it was one of the best teams… and NSTAR came through for us with sponsorship… it was going great…

but the hardest part, i found, was quite similar to kate’s… our team headed off to the jersey regional… and maybe we never rose from 40th seed, but we had a blast… i never thought going to wearing a gold medal the year before to finishing last could feel so incredibly great… but it did, we did awesome despite what any score could post up… i was proud…

then for old time’s sake, i went to the CT. regional, and i, for the first time, realized how at home i felt among my old team, and how much i didn’t (in some ways, not all)… on my new one… i started to miss it… and i didn’t realize until then how little i had roamed the pits in jersey and just had the time to meet up with old friends… that’s when the real hard part began…

…then nationals came, and i was ready for it to all settle together… but something was still missing… the robot totally worked, and we went 5 for 7 with our matches… and so, we didn’t get picked, we still had fun… but then i went to cheer on my old crew as they headed into the finals… and i realized that’s where my heart was, and i think always will be… there’s something hard about leaving home… there’s a core place in my heart for that gael force team that can never (and i would never want it to) be replaced…

–‘Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.’ -Gilda Radner –

so to say there was/is a transition, i really don’t see it happening… i’ll admit, there’s issues here that i don’t like, and times a many where it’s just so easy to say ‘hey, i’m going to back to my old team…’ or i could just join another in the area… and i don’t think that feeling will ever leave… but i’m trying my hardest to make my mark here, to pass on to these kids the feeling/trust/loyalty, you name it, that i have towards my old team… to think that maybe i could be just that good to leave them with the same effect that the wonderful people in clinton have left on me…

–‘I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better.’ -G. C. Lichtenberg –

so the hard part i’m in the middle of right now… deciding exactly what, how, when, where things will happen next year… the transition hasn’t quite happened yet… i’ve never felt pushed aside or left in the back, because i’ve never let myself… it’s just a matter of deciding if my heart can ever feel at home here…

– ‘I want to appreciate the times when moments are made into memories. I want to embrace them. Cherish them. And never forget they come so few and far between. I know that wherever life takes me, these moments will always follow. They remind me of what’s truly important. It’s not just life – but living. It’s the journey, the destination, and all points in
between. And I must admit, I like what I see.’ –

…and all i can say right now is thank you to all the so many people who make my decision -that- hard… it’s worth every bit of loyalty i feel…rick, rob, jorge, jim, jeanne, morrison, mr.o, gordon, peter, lish, buzz, andy, t2 - t6, kato, rach, timmy, em, lisa, marianne, dave… every one one of you…

…and to thank all the friends that make me feel so at home at FIRST, that no matter what team i’m on, i know i have a place and some team to take me in… kate, lora, anton, mr.b, ron, andy, joe, chris, dave, pat, chris, steve, rob, ken, jon, aaron (love ya kid), mike, erin, kirsten, erica… and every one of you i know i’m forgetting…

‘If I have a belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have had it in the beginning.’ -Mahatma Gandhi

‘A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.’ -Lao Tzu

‘Within me lies a superhero who is swift and strong and comes to the rescue of those who need her. She prefers, however, not to wear a cape.’

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Posted by Joe Ross.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]

Coach on team #330, Beach Bot 2000, from Hope Chapel Academy and NASA/JPL & J&F Machine.

Posted on 4/15/2000 12:03 AM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

Unlike, the rest of your stories, even though I transitioned from high scool to college, I never changed teams. I could have gone to college just about anywhere I had wanted but I chose to go to our local community college where I knew I could get a quality 2 years of education before transfering.

This meant that I was able to stay on as a coach to my old team, 330. The hardest part, like Nate said, was not jumping in and doing everything. I had played pivotal roles on the rules, scouting, strategy teams, as well as being in charge of electrical and controls. I had to learn to keep my hands out and encourage the students to get in and do it theirselves.

There were times that I still got do many of the things that I used to do, like at the West Coast regional, when the control program didn’t work and everyone had thrown up their hands, I jumped in a got it working. But, for the most part I tried to limit my involvement when the students could do the same job.

My hardest part came when I realized that I wouldn’t be able to go to Florida. Because the Ames regional was just the week before Florida I knew that I couldn’t miss 6 days of class in just 2 weeks. I watched the matches on the Internet and cheered just as loudly as my teamates 3000 miles away, but it wasn’t the same not being able to interact with the rest of the great teams.

I guess the real reason I wrote this was to remind all the seniors graduating this year that they don’t need to forget their old team. And based on the stories I am reading here, it may be easier to stay involved at home (unless you are brave enough to start your own team).

Joe Ross
Team 330
El Camino Community College

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Posted by Tom Sivert.

Other on team #125, NU-TRONS, from Northeastern University and Textron Systems.

Posted on 4/15/2000 10:03 AM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

Well I hear what you all are saying about the composition. But I will say that once I realized what it is like to help others get the chance I got in high school its all worth it to make the transition. Like Andy G said not only do you learn more about engineering but you also make new friends (that by the way on the NU-Trons bring there A game every where they go). I will also admit that starting over with out the great people at Nypro was very hard, I still had a blast meeting new people and going about things in a different way. So a finial thought would be for everyone that goes on after high school and wants to stay with it just stick with it and you will get molded into the mix fast.
Later Tom
Team 125
Past Team 126

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Posted by Steve Shade.

Engineer on team #7, Firestorm, from Parkville High School and NASA GSFC / Black & Decker / Raytheon / AAI .

Posted on 4/15/2000 10:28 AM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

Like Joe I also stayed on the same team in college. Partially because, including rookies, thee are only 4 teams in the state of Maryland. The other reason is that we have the entire month of January off because of a Winterterm and the only team close to me is my high school’s.

Going back felt different this year. And I am the first college student to go back on my team. So I had to define and constantly change my role on the team. It gave me a new challenge and has made me realize how completely lucky I was being on a team structure that is a little bit diffeent from everything else I have seen (this is both good and bad). This year I wasn’t even planning on going to the Nationals, or anything for that matter, but somehow, there was a last minute opening, and I made it to Florida.

This year it all felt different, I was no longer in high school. I had friends on other teams! And I was actually relaxed for the most part at the competition. I think the hardest part for me was and still is, trying to define what my role is on the team.

Like colleen said, i know with all of my friends, I will always have a home in FIRST, no matter what team I’m on. There is no way i could have made it through all of this year, unless i was talking with all of you.

I love the new challenge of trying to explain how to do something instead of just doing it. And I’m still working on understanding what it is that I’m supposed to do, but i like the change of roles and i love FIRST.

If anyone out there is comming to the University of Maryland: College Park or any Maryland University, let me know! As of right now, I’m still trying to let people know what FIRST is.

Steve
Team 7

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Posted by Matt Leese.

Student on team #7 from Parkville High School and NASA, Black & Decker, AAI, Raytheon.

Posted on 4/15/2000 1:22 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

I haven’t exactly made the transfer from high school to college, yet but I will after this year (I’m a senior now). I think that it is important to feel that you are a part of a team, but I think it’s more important to remember what FIRST is all about. The whole point is to teach and encourage high school students in engineering. I think once your out of high school you need to remember that you’re no longer doing FIRST for yourself but instead that you’re doing it for all the students out there. Once you graduate to mentor, that’s what you need to do: mentor. It may be difficult and it may not be as much fun, but sometimes that’s the only way to go about it.

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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 4/15/2000 1:32 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

Kate-

You hit quite a nerve here. I am a senior in high school and the captain of the awesome Team #1. I really love my team. We aren’t all just friends during our class or during competition, we are friends in and out of school. We hang out together almost all the time because we all get along so well.

After this year I don’t know what I am going to do if I can’t be on a FIRST team. Like Nate has said before, I am probably the one person he knows that could possibly be involved with FIRST for my whole life. That statement is entirely true. It isn’t just because I like going to nationals for the vacation, that’s not even true. I feed off of the positive energy coming from other people who happen to enjoy the same things that I enjoy. I love talking to other people and learning from them. Do you think I actually knew what a gear ratio was in the beginning of my junior year? I couldn’t live a year without some kind of FIRST related activity.

When I go to college, I am aiming low and close-to-home. I don’t see a ‘super-high-quality’ education as being my key to success. I believe that I can be successful without going to a big ten school. Hopefully, I can go to Oakland University or Oakland Community College for awhile until I can get up off of the ground from high school.

Kate, it is somewhat different on my team then yours. We have alot of college students come back after we graduate. However, we do not have people come just to get involved that have never been on the team before. I would actually like to see this happen, but we are a very small team and we haven’t much room for lots of advisors. But with luck, I might come back next year and help out.

We still have the team captain from 1997 on our team. He is one of the teachers now, though. He went to work for OTC after he graduated. I hope to follow in his footsteps.

Kate, please don’t look at your team and a negative in your life compared to your old team. Things grow and change, just be who you are and make them accept you for just that. Don’t stop wearing facepaint because they look at you funny. Don’t stop screaming for any team just because they look at you funny (read: this was what team 1 did to erin last year whenever she went fanatic in the stands.)

I don’t really know what else to say, and I have said so much that I can’t really come up with a conclusion to tie it all together. I guess the underlying message here is, don’t let anything stand in your way of being who you are. You are a super-cool chick who is tons of fun, and even though your current team may be downing you for that, that gives you a great opportunity to change everything. Look at the positive rather than the negative, I know you can make a difference.

-erin

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Posted by Tom McKay.

Other on team #65, The Huskie Brigade, from Pontiac Northern High School and GM Powertrain.

Posted on 4/15/2000 8:17 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

I’m almost through the first year of college and miss FIRST a lot, but have learned
to deal with it and live continue the FIRST experience through my brother, who joined
the Huskie Brigade last year and (hopefully) will be on it for the next 2 until he
graduates. I went to the Great Lakes Regional this year and had a blast. I wish this
year’s game was last years! Looks like a lot of fun.

I would have liked to travel with the team this year, but this college student’s budget of
money and time made that impossible. I’m hoping that within the next few years I can
participate with them again, but unfortunately it will not be the same. For those of you
who can wait, I recommend saving your time, money, and energy and waiting until you
get out of college. That way you can work for a company that sponsors a team… or when
you have kids you can do work for their teams! It may hurt, but I’m looking past my high
school years and my FIRST endeavors and storing them in my memory as some of the
best experiences of my life.

Tom McKay
Management Information Systems Major
Oakland University, Rochester, MI

16

Posted by Daniel.

Coach on team #483, BORG, from Berkeley High School and NASA Ames & UC Berkeley.

Posted on 4/16/2000 11:56 AM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

Alright Kate, I guess you’re ‘‘you HAVE to respond to this message…’’ paid off cuz here I am =)

Since everyone seems to be starting out with their own little story, here’s mine:

I graduated high school KNOWING I would start a team. As soon as my feet set ground at SFO after Florida ‘99, I started making plans to get something going at Berkeley High School, just a few blocks away from where I’d be living. I made some calls and sent some emails and pretty soon I was giving a presentation with GRT’s robot to a group of kids during Berkeley High’s lunch hour. Things started out real slow. We had a lot of trouble getting the interest level up at the school and once summer came around, didn’t once have a successful meeting. People just didn’t show up like they said they would. At the beginning of the year we gave another push. Our goal was to get a team of 15-20. The day before the deadline I got a call from the Senior who was quickly becoming our student leader. He was excited. He told me to call another meeting and sure enough, there were 23 odd people ready and waiting to build a robot. Now this was all well and good but we all know it takes more than people to build a robot. We faced our second major roadblock of the project. It was time to find money, tools, and a place to work. We had all the luck in the world when it came to tools and a place to work, but money remained a big stumbling block. We’d called at least 4 parent meetings to try to collect contacts, all of which drew in 3 or 4 parents combined. All the fundraising letters we did send out amounted to nothing. So when kickoff came around and all we had was $4000 from the NASA grant plus whatever we could scrounge up from our members’ wallets, we were still $1000 short for registration to nationals (we couldn’t keep ourselves away). Many sleepless nights, favors, donations, hamburgers (Jeff cooks a KILLER one pounder), and broken mill bits later, BORG was ready to compete. Ready is a funny word to use though, considering we barely had time to finish building parts, and basically ended up tossing them all in the crate to assemble at the regional. That’s the story.

Now, I think you should know how it felt to be what I was on the team. I should say it was very different, I should say it was sometimes frustrating, and I should warn you that there are other things in college that will begin to compete for your time. I had no trouble at first, going to the workshop for the weekly meetings and helping them come up with preparation activities (we did a mini sumo-robot competition and a mock design phase), this was no stretch for me. It remained ok when I went to kickoff as an advisor, that was a blast (except for them kicking me out of the bar-restaurant because I wasn’t 21). Even well into production I was doing fine. But day by day it began to feel funny. Something wasn’t right and I couldn’t place it at first. I caught myself trying to come up with excuses not to go, which for me – an avid FIRST-a-holic – was very unnatural. It wasn’t until I sat myself down and really went over the whole thing in my mind where I caught the problem.

I love working on this project. I love working with the people who love working on this project. I love building the robots that the people I love working with love building while working on this project (see if you can figure that one out!). However, there was a hole inside me. That was the problem. It wasn’t something wrong with what I was doing, it was something I felt I was missing entirely. I’m in college now, I live in the dorms with all my friends, and each day I was leaving the dorm and my friends to work on this great project. I was missing out on a piece of college life that is so valuable, comparable even to the FIRST competition we all love so much. They say that the four years we spend in college will likely be some of the best years in our lives and I truly believe that. It’s indescribable to those who haven’t witnessed it, but when you do perhaps you’ll understand. As much as FIRST means to me, I belong here. I’ll continue to work on FIRST but I will likely be more of a background figure from here on out.

This is my transition.
-Daniel

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PS – I don’t know quite what happened in Florida but somehow when all of you were tracking each other down and kickin’ it with your fellow CD addicts, I was out to lunch. I wish I could have met you all, and sincerely regret not having done so. You and this message board are a big part of what makes FIRST what it is for me. Thanks for all the great dialogues over the years. =)

17

Posted by Kyle Huang.

Student on team #192, Gunn Robotics Team, from Gunn High School and Sun Microsystems, Nasa/Ames and Xerox PARC.

Posted on 4/16/2000 10:16 PM MST

In Reply to: Final Transition. posted by Daniel on 4/16/2000 11:56 AM MST:

:As soon as my feet set ground at SFO after Florida '99

hah! we landed as SJC, not at SFO in '99 =

18

Posted by Keith Liadis.

Student on team #131, C.H.A.O.S., from Manchester Central High School and Osram Sylvania and Fleet Bank.

Posted on 4/16/2000 12:57 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

You’ve got plenty of support for next year. Myself, and a handfull of first-a-holics will be joining you at good old WPI… and all shall be good… I guaranfreakintee it! See you next year Kate… and the other WPI first people too…
-Keith

I do agree however that nothing could be better than being on the HS end of the project. Number one reason= driving… it was the most amazing experience Ill ever go through… it’ll be hard to top all that I’ve been through… Number two reason… the fact that all my closest friends were on the team… I don’t know if our team was an exception… but back in freshman and sophomore year… myself and a few others got all our friends together… and we all joined the team… and have been doing it ever since… and reason number three… the mentors and advisors on the team… I was so lucky to have such awesome people to work with… the thing is… they aren’t considered just advisors and mentors to me… they’re more like really good friends… people who I’ve built up relationships with and whatnot…
Still though… I’m looking forward to trying the college FIRST experience out… my FIRST career isn’t going to die out that easily…

19

Posted by Keith Liadis.

Student on team #131, C.H.A.O.S., from Manchester Central High School and Osram Sylvania and Fleet Bank.

Posted on 4/17/2000 7:35 PM MST

In Reply to: The Transition posted by Kate on 4/14/2000 12:52 PM MST:

You’ve got plenty of support for next year. Myself, and a handfull of first-a-holics will be joining you at good old WPI… and all shall be good… I guarandamntee it! (hopefully you delphi people won’t delete this one too!) See you next year Kate… and the other WPI first people too…
-Keith
I do agree however that nothing could be better than being on the HS end of the project. Number one reason= driving… it was the most amazing experience Ill ever go through… it’ll be hard to top all that I’ve been through… Number two reason… the fact that all my closest friends were on the team… I don’t know if our team was an exception… but back in freshman and sophomore year… myself and a few others got all our friends together… and we all joined the team… and have been doing it ever since… and reason number three… the mentors and advisors on the team… I was so lucky to have such awesome people to work with… the thing is… they aren’t considered just advisors and mentors to me… they’re more like really good friends… people who I’ve built up relationships with and whatnot…
Still though… I’m looking forward to trying the college FIRST experience out… my FIRST career isn’t going to die out that easily…