FIRST Robotics Competition Blog

Dear Frank,

 My name is Runtian Song. I am writing to you about the Team 6362 Shengxue Corps from Shanghai fengxian secondary specialized school in Shanghai, China. My father is liming Song, the mentor of Shengxue Corps. I am sorry for their absence to the FIRST Robotics in San Antonio between April 5-8, 2017.

As far as I know, I think the reasons they cannot make it are the visa issues. All the mentors got their visas ahead of time. However, the embassy delayed the students’ visas. They planned to get the visas done by April to catch the competition on April 5^th. Part of the reasons were according to the traditional Chinese festival, embassy did not have opening hours and could not process the visas for the students. Also, team 6362 went to the competition held by FRC in Shenzhen region. And Shengxue corps extended their journey into the final rounds. Event Results for Team #6362 was 7-6-0 in official play in 2017 in Shenzhen. Team 6362 was Rank 9 with a record of 7-6-0They ranked 9^th out of 45. To be more qualified to participate in this competition held in San Antonio between April 5-8, team members did not take a break even in the spring festival, which is a traditional festival in china. They maintained the conditions of the robots and tried to have the best conditions to face the further competition. Most of these students come from the low-income families, some of them were brought up by their father or mother. After the maker camp(CRC) held in the school last summer, the students had been changed a lot in good manners. They used to look down on themselves cause they did not have a solid grades compared to other schools in the same area. Students had gained responsibilities and confidence during these few months. They became the team-player and willing to help others when in difficulties. That’s what FRC brought to the team, and that was why they were so attracted by FRC.  They now truly understood the ethos of the FIRST. Gracious Professionalism is part of the ethos of FIRST. It's a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. With Gracious Professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate notions. Gracious professionals learn and compete like crazy, but treat one another with respect and kindness in the process. They avoid treating anyone like losers. No chest thumping tough talk, but no sticky-sweet platitudes either. Knowledge, competition, and empathy are comfortably blended. In the long run, Gracious Professionalism is part of pursuing a meaningful life. One can add to society and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing one has acted with integrity and sensitivity.  And shengxue corps put FRC value into their team and promoted the value into the society by visiting the local companies in china.

During the spring festival in China, most of offices were closed during that time. That was also a reason students’ visas got delayed. And when the student got back from Shenzhen, it took them 18 hours on the train, after they went back to school, most of students went back to their classes. There were 20 students in  6362 team, however, the school selected 6 students to participate in the FRC event in the states. This was a tough choice when doing the selection cause of the financial problems faced by the school. That was also a reason to drag down the visa processes by fairly treating each student.

And we felt appreciated team already got 6,000 award by FRC earlier this year. That was a boost to our team. Our team members got motivated by the generous and kindness offered by the FRC. After the FRC and the maker camp’s(CRC) experience, I think team 6362 are ready to face the more competitive competition.

I am asking here if there is any chance to let team 6362 to get back to the Huston in April 18^th for the final round competition.

Looking forward to your reply,

Sincerely,

Runtian Song