FIRST® Alum Joe Polin was part of FIRST® Robotics Competition Team 1308 in Cleveland, Ohio—the start, he says, of an education and career path that has landed him at Tesla, working for its Computer Vision and AI arm. Since then, Joe has made it a priority to give back to FIRST as a Donor and Volunteer. Along the way, he’s learned a few lessons about robotics, risk-taking, mentoring, and taking pride in what you build. His advice for students? “Learn to code. Regardless of your discipline, the ability to automate simple tasks and understand software (at least at a high level) will be invaluable.”