My friend and I would like to surprise one of our mentors who’s had a huge impact on our lives and has been so involved in FIRST and done so much for them, and submit them for the woody flowers award. However, we don’t want to hurt the feelings of the long time mentor that is still currently with the team, every year one is submitted for him and we want to give the mentor who means a lot to us a chance. Is it possible we can submit it anonymously?
I would advise to being upfront with the mentor that is submitted every year. Perhaps everyone can get together and talk as a team as to who should be nominated for Woody Flowers. Consider the scenario where the mentor you guys want to nominate ends up winning. The other mentor would probably be very surprised and would know it was done without him even knowing about it.
And why should the mentors know who was submitted at all? At least, until after the season, or they are announced as the winner. All they need to know is that a submission went in. (If that, mind you.)
Back when I was a student, the students would have a meeting with maybe one mentor present (usually not an engineering mentor, BTW), pick which mentor we would nominate, and nominate them. The only adult who knew which mentor generally functioned as a proofreader, and was NEVER the nominated mentor.
To answer the original question, to the best of my knowledge, no award can be submitted anonymously. If nothing else, FIRST will be able to trace the STIMS account it went in from–there’s enough of a paper trail to be able to find the team number, as I understand it–and it’s generally accepted as best practice to make sure it’s clear.
To add another element into the mix: Why are you so sure that the long-time mentor’s feelings will be hurt? Besides the whole “we’ve submitted him for a long time” aspect, I would find it reasonable to expect that he’s not exactly in this for the recognition, and thus wouldn’t mind too terribly if you took a break from nominating him to nominate someone else. (If he is, there’s nothing like the students feeding the mentors to heal feelings…)
In the TIMS system, can the mentor and lead advisor read the award?
I’m not sure. That’s what I wanna know. And if so, we would still submit for the other mentor and give him a turn. Like Erich said, the other mentor that gets submitted every year would understand taking a break.
Sorry. I only assumed that everyone usually knew which mentor was nominated from the way the op described everyone knowing that the same mentor has been nominated every year. Of course every team does things differently and it’s up to them to decide how to run things.
I don’t think so. STIMS and TIMS are not exactly the same system. They’re different sides of it, though.
Not knowing where you are from, I would caution that at least in the PNW district system (and maybe other district systems), in 2014 all mentors nominated for the district WFFA were recognized at the district events, since not all teams qualify for the DCMP. This meant that mentors who were nominated knew they were nominated. Your mileage may vary, and I don’t know if they are going to do that again this year. I have also seen this done at regionals before. WFFA nominees are usually not announced, but there’s no guarantees that it won’t be made public if they don’t win.
I will also say that while a nomination for WFFA is a huge honor, it is not the only way to recognize a mentor who has made an impact on your life. A heart-felt letter or thank you is very powerful, especially if it’s something you’re willing to share in front of the team. Your team only gets on WFFA nomination each year, but that should stop you from recognizing other mentors who have had a special impact on you.
Two mentors have access to the team information in TIMS. There they can select up to 4 students (who are already registered in STIMS) to nominate a mentor for the WFFA. The selected students do this in STIMS. The mentors in TIMS cannot see anything the students have submitted.
Woodie spells his name without a Y
I would caution against making it a complete surprise. To get the details of the submission correct, you’ll more than likely need to ask the mentor questions rather than go off of heresay or a misinterpretation of something the mentor says in an unrelated context. This is particularly important if your submission will become public or be read by the company the mentor works for. It’s also important so the essay itself is clear and more concise.
Although the Lead and alternative contact in TIMS cannot see the the submission itself, they are able to see which student submitted it and what day it was submitted on. So being 100% anonymous in your nomination/submission is pretty much impossible, as the 2 lead mentors will be able to see which of the 4 designated students submitted for the award.
If you look in the administrative manual from 2014*, Section 6.9 outlines the intent and submission guidelines for the Woodie Flowers Award. Section 6.9.2 specifically states that it is solely up to the students to select a nominee for the award: (emphasis mine)
High school students on a FIRST Robotics Competition team may nominate one (1) adult team member as their Woodie Flowers Finalist Award (WFFA) candidate. The students will describe how this mentor has given them the best understanding of the challenges, opportunities and satisfaction involved in the discipline of engineering and design. Professor Flowers will lead the past Championship Woodie Flowers Award (WFA) recipients as they judge and select the Finalists and the Championship recipient based on student essays.
This award recognizes an individual who has done an outstanding job of motivation through communication while also challenging the students to be clear and succinct in recognizing the value of communication. As such, it is very important that this be a student-led effort and a student decision. Team mentors should direct their students to the online entry site and let the high school students decide whom to nominate. Adults can help edit, but this must be a student-led effort, since any team mentor is eligible. Authors must be clearly identified as high school students in the online submission.
*Note: This excerpt is from the 2014 Administrative Manual. Although it is unlikely to be significantly altered, I would highly recommend re-reading the new 2015 Administrative Manual when it is released
Ditto that in New England.
I had written quite a bit… but deleted it all because it came down to one simple concept.
Any mentor worthy of a WFFA would be delighted to see one of their fellow mentors receive the award.
Jason
I would like to make sure that you realize that the Woodie Flowers Award is intended (actually required) to come from the students based on their choice of whom they would like to recognize.
From the FRC Administrative Manual, Section 6.9.2 Woodie Flowers Award - Spirit of the Award:
This award recognizes an individual who has done an outstanding job of motivation through communication while also challenging the students to be clear and succinct in recognizing the value of communication. As such, it is very important that this be a student-led effort and a student decision. Team mentors should direct their students to the online entry site and let the high school students decide whom to nominate. Adults can help edit, but this must be a student-led effort, since any team mentor is eligible. Authors must be clearly identified as high school students in the online submission.
Note the portion I highlighted in blue text and underlined.
It is truly an honor to be nominated by your students but only if it is their decision to nominate you. The adults on the team should not have any influence on who is chosen or why.
I could not agree more with this statement.
Ultimately, my point is that it is your choice as the students whom you would like to nominate and your long-time mentor is unlikely to object to the idea that there are other mentors who are also well respected and appreciated by the students.
If this mentor that you want to nominate has helped FRC team activities and students, I am pretty sure he will understand. From my personal experience, when name was called out as nominee at one of the District events, I wished the students had nominated another mentor. Yes, I do put in lot of hours, probably more than others, it felt very nice and made me happy when I was nominated. I want every mentor to feel that way, I am pretty sure your mentor will feel the same way. By the way, I did not receive the award, there are many mentors who had done so much better than me and they deserve it.
Same thing in MAR as well.
Our team has had a general philosophy of nominating someone different every year. This helps to make sure that no one feels left out of the process and that everyone gets recognized. While it can certainly make sense to nominate the same person every year (they may just be that much better/more involved/whatever than the other mentors), if they are really that good and dedicated they’ll understand and support the team in your decision to nominate someone else this year.