University FIRST Alumni Group

Other College & University Education
1

Hi all,

I’m an alumnus of 2410 and will be a sophomore at the University of Kansas. In my first year I talked to some fellow FIRST alumni who were interested in joining a FIRST alumni association for students at KU, but my friends and I couldn’t get anything going last year.

My big question is what do people do in FIRST alumni groups? I know other universities have them and I would be interested to hear what people at other schools do in their alumni groups.

Thanks!

2

In the case of Gamecock FIRSTers, it’s working with Garnet Squadron (FTC 11444) and some years doing Robot in 3 Days as Team Cockamamie.

Some focus on staging events, some focus on volunteering at events, some focus on mentoring, some focus on hanging out. Your group’s ambitions will drive what you do. :slight_smile:

I remember that Purdue FIRST Programs did a conference talk a year or two ago at Championship. They’re a big, established program that is a solid reference point for what is possible (eventually, and with the right support).

3

Socialize. Make friends. Connect with others and network.

4

Hello,

I am a new alumni (also in Kansas, but at Wichita State - originally from Oklahoma) and have noticed that there aren’t a lot of FIRST opportunities in Kansas except in the Kansas City area.

If you know of any FIRST alumni in the Wichita area please let me know. Same thing if you know of any new events in Kansas that I could volunteer at. I’d like to get a FIRST alumni group started at WSU but for now I am planning to focus on school and do a little bit of volunteering back in Oklahoma when I have time.

5

Texas A&M Alumni group is the biggest and most active in Texas.

6

Hey all, sorry this is about a year late but with college season starting back up we figured it’d be alright to start this discussion up again.

FAMNM is in a bit of a unique position in Michigan, where there are multiple FLL, FTC, and FRC official and unofficial competitions occurring nearly every weekend year round, and multitudes of teams at all levels looking for full and part time help. We focus most of our effort into being event volunteers at all levels, hosting FIRST kickoffs, workshops, and community events on campus, and mentoring the teams around us. So far it’s worked out great!

As our org grows, we’re starting to dabble a bit in partnerships with other college FIRST orgs, companies looking to get involved in FIRST or hire FIRST Alumni, and more resource-intensive efforts like mass mentoring through Ri3D and an FRC offseason. There’s always more to do, and our main focuses change every year depending on the specific passions of the org leaders. It really all depends on what your members are excited about!

7

At Purdue, we do lots of things. Here’s a small list.

  1. Volunteer at events
  2. Plan Events
  3. Mentor Teams
  4. Complain about homework
  5. Go to comedy shows
  6. Get food together
  7. Freak out about reveal videos
  8. Argue about whether a turret elevator or swerve is better
  9. Go on picnics!
  10. Road trip to worlds
  11. Listen to that one guy from New England talk about local teams and Dunk’n Donuts
  12. Prototype swerve longboards
  13. Make Friends
  14. Eat one too many wings

The list goes on and on.

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