Starting high school in 1998 I had band and ballet on my mind. I knew I would never be a ballerina or musician but those activities challenged my discipline and creativity. It was band however that led me to FIRST. My sophomore year I was in the Monta Vista High school Pep Band when were invited to skip a day of school and play at some robotics competition at Moffett field. At the time missing school was enough of a reason for me to go. When I arrived in the massive Hangar One at Moffett and I saw what the robotics competition was all about I decided that next year I was going to be on the team.
My junior year I became a member of the mechanical engineering division of team 115. I was the only one of my friends to join, the only girl in that division, and I had no idea how to build a robot. I was fortunate to have great student leaders on the team that recognized the value of having the new person in the group that asks a million questions. That year I learned that engineering used the same creativity I used in the arts and applies it through science. When I first saw the device I had designed built in action in the competition I was so proud. I figured if this is what engineering is all about I should seriously consider it as a career path. My senior year we won third at the 2001 championship event. Granted, we were just an alternate for the alliance and never actually played a final round, we where still chosen out of all the teams there. That year it was not so much the winning that excited me but the prospect of finally finding something that I new I could be passionate about and actually do well.
That year I was accepted at the University of Portland School of Engineering for mechanical engineer. Being a FIRST alumni I had the advantage of being able to see the real world application of the fundamentals we were learning. I also knew that engineering takes organizational and business skills. As learned at FIRST, engineering skill is not enough if you don't have the funds and organization to back it up. I decided that getting a business minor will help my future career by not only allowing me to understand engineering but the business behind engineering companies.
My sophomore year at UP I though I had time to mentor a FIRST team but unfortunately there were none in Portland. I decided that I should organize one and I started emailing local schools to see if someone was interested. I finally got a response back from Mr. Mahr at Franklin High School. He was the metal shop teacher there and said that he might have some students that were interested. We were able to get a handful of metal shop students and I convinced an EE friend to help mentor the programming of the robot. The next year Team 1432 was entered in the 2004 Robotics competition. At the competition we basically had a box with wheels able to herd balls. It was however extremely durable and the students all were able to take turns at the driver's position. That year we met our goal. We had the students extremely excited about what they could achieve next year and more importantly we were able to recruit the valuable help of David Porter at the competition to help the students achieve those aspirations.
My senior year I was able to help less during the building period but with David Porter and a few parents we not only had better base, we also had a two-stage arm. That year the students felt what I had felt 4 years earlier when I saw the thing that I built win a round. That year we where plagued with problems during the competition but I was proud that every one of our members knew the robot so well that they fixed components with lightning speed.
My fifth and final year at UP I was not able to help the team during building due to my senior design schedule but I left them in the good hands of Bob Holmstrom. My senior design project is a computerized leg prosthesis with a three man interdisciplinary team. I am also working on a business plan for the production of the prosthesis for the School of Business' 16k Challenge. Because I was no longer actively involved with team 1432, Mr. Porter, who was organizing volunteers, asked me if I wanted to be a judge at this year's event. I could not think of a better way to end this year. After spending two years as a student member and two years of being a mentor I was finally going to be on the other side of the organization.
Today I spent the whole day empathizing for the teams that I was judging. I spoke to students struggling through lack of sleep and a cold to coherently talk about their team. I realized how much I have grown from the first time I entered Hangar One at Moffett with my French horn in hand to when I entered the pit dressed in the blue judges shirt. I know for a fact that I would not be graduating May 7th with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a business minor if it had not been for FIRST. I had all the skills needed to achieve this but FIRST was my guide. It was through FIRST's values and gracious professionalism that I was able to make it through college and make every moment count. For that I want to thank you and all those at FIRST for helping students find and reach their true potential.
