Mentoring a FIRST Team

I discovered FIRST a few years ago while researching robotics controllers for a work-related project. I found online references to "the controller used in the FIRST robotics competition". Robotics competition?? That sounded cool! After a little googling I stumbled across an email address for the director of our local high school robotics team. Even though my oldest child was still in diapers; years away from participating in anything like FIRST, I was intrigued enough to send the director an email asking about the program. My timing could not have been better. As it turned out, the robotics controllers used in prior years' competitions had been based on the PBASIC programming language, but that year's controllers were based on C. None of the team's mentors knew C, so I agreed to teach a brief course to the student programmers on the team. I found a shareware C compiler on the internet, threw a few sample programs together, and fired up PowerPoint on my laptop. I had some prior experience training adults how to use new software in a classroom setting, but I had never taught teenagers before. I wasn't sure what to expect.

What I found blew my mind. Not only were these some of the best behaved kids I'd ever met, but they were actually enthusiastic about learning complex, technical material. They were attentive, polite and asked intelligent questions. Teaching them was a pleasure. I guess my enthusiasm showed, too; I had three students independently tell me that I should be a teacher.

I agreed to mentor the programmers through the rest of the season. I had to juggle my schedule to fit it in, but I'm very glad I did. During the six-week build period, teams work like crazy but the rewards are well worth the effort. The only thing more satisfying than watching a robot we'd all worked on roll onto the field was watching a student use skills I'd taught to solve a problem. I traveled with the team to the competitions, and seeing that many kids that jazzed up about science and technology was incredible.

FIRST teams need mentors with all kinds of skills, not just technical. Fundraising, communications, organizational skills, and fabrication skills are as important to a successful team as engineering or programming expertise. So don't be shy! Check out the mentoring opportunities on http://www.usfirst.org/4vol!