INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Stu Schmill

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Colleges seek students with empathic behaviors learned through FIRST

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Stu Schmill

Dean of Admissions, MIT

Today, there's a real mismatch between what students think they need to do to get into college and what they actually need to do.

The new advice for students applying to college is, pursue the things that interest you with balance, initiative, and persistence; make the lives of those around you better; and, have fun! A new study by the Harvard Graduate School of Education entitled "Turning the Tide Report" recommends that colleges and universities give more credit to students who make meaningful contributions to others. In essence, colleges and universities want to achieve more of the gracious behaviors and attitudes so prevalent in FIRST. We can do so by changing our admission processes to emphasize that we're looking for these gracious qualities.

FIRST has been inspiring and measuring concern for others since it started with awards like the Chairman's, Inspire, and Champion's Awards. At colleges and universities, we're looking for super nerds steeped in empathic response to others. We now recognize that active FIRST participation is a great predictor of active concern for others.


INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Eugene Zheng

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FIRST helps change lives the world over

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Eugene Zheng

FIRST Volunteer, China

Thirteen years ago, many Chinese teachers already recognized the importance of science and technology education. Innovation and creativity are crucial for students in the 21st century. However, our teachers did not know how to incorporate creativity into their daily exam-based traditional classrooms. After-school science and technology projects for interested students were limited to car and airplane modeling.

That changed with the arrival of FIRST LEGO League. Students and teachers alike were all intrigued by the challenge of designing an autonomous robot that could solve 14 missions on Mars − everyone wanted to be part of that! In fewer than three years, under the organization of China's Science and Technology Association, we got all 30 of China's provinces embracing FIRST.


INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Anika Yardi

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FIRST transforms students into community leaders

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Anika Yardi

2016 FIRST Dean’s List Winner, Maryland

I started high school insecure and unsure of what my passion was. I wasn’t really interested in typical after-school clubs like newspaper or debate. When I went to the interest meeting for FIRST Tech Challenge, I almost chickened out. My life would be a profoundly different thing if I hadn’t had the courage to step into that room that day of my freshman year. I found my passion in STEM education.

Robotics allowed me to transform into someone I don’t think my middle school self would recognize. I’m much more outgoing and confident in myself. I’m really comfortable speaking out, asserting and advocating for my own ideas, and taking on leadership roles. I also think that’s really important as a girl in STEM that I’ve learned that lesson, and I’m all the more the grateful that I discovered FIRST for that reason.

I’ve learned that the worse thing someone can tell you is "No." I’ve been able to create a lot of STEM programs that have helped a lot of people, just because I asked. For example, a five-minute conversation with a director at a robotics camp turned into the development of a 10-week robotics program for children of low-income families.

I’ll always remember winning the Dean’s List Award at the FIRST Championship. It was really crazy. Sometimes, it feels like someone else’s memories in my head. It has allowed me to have a lot more resources and contacts to pursue STEM outreach, which was what got me this award in the first place. FIRST welcomed me with open arms and made me the best possible version of myself. I’m focused on giving back.


INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Diana Marsala

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FIRST prepares students for college success

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Diana Marsala

2015 Dean’s List Finalist, FIRST Alum

I became a 2015 Dean’s List Finalist at the Michigan State Championship. It has validated me as a leader and pioneer.

I was the Scouting Captain for my FIRST Robotics Competition team for four years, so I spent my time not only analyzing data, but also programming the systems that organized the data and managing the team that collected it. For four years, I thought I was simply doing this for fun. There were even days I wondered if robotics was worth it, since I knew I didn’t want to be an engineer, but I can assure anyone who is thinking about joining that FIRST is truly More Than Robots℠.

I’m now a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania studying neuroscience. My experience with FIRST has opened the door for me to take part in biomedical research at an Ivy League university – in my freshman year, no less! It is easily the most valuable experience I had as a high school student. The skills exemplified by Dean’s List Finalists are valuable in any field, and that has been recognized by every employer and Mentor I have come in contact with. I can’t imagine a better way to have spent my high school years than in the inspirational FIRST community.


INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Javier Henandez Gallegos

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FIRST: A complete life experience

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Javier Hernandez-Gallegos

FIRST Robotics Competition Sponsor

After three years of sponsoring Mexican FIRST Robotics Competition teams, my company, Peñoles, found that FIRST is a complete life experience for our kids.

Most of the students have to work to help support their families, live in dangerous communities, and travel up to three hours to go to school. We are blown away by their courage — to accept a technology challenge in an environment where computers, smart phones, or tablets are not available; to ride a bike home for two hours in the middle of the night; to work hard with Mentors to learn life skills like how to eat using silverware as well as teamwork, respect, and responsibility; to believe that their pre-conceived destiny can be radically different.


INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Jackie Moore

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With FIRST, the game is not the prize

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Jackie Moore

FIRST Mentor; Program Director, Level UP, Inc

For us, the game is not the prize. It’s the changes FIRST brings about in kids, like heightened self-esteem, learning how to collaborate, and the positive feelings that come with being part of a team — a team that consistently helps others regardless of their own circumstances. Our teens learn valuable technical skills that can help them build a future for themselves. More importantly, they learn perseverance and community-based problem solving — the skills that will prepare them for a full life.


INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Earl Scime

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FIRST: The launch pad for the future of youth

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Dr. Earl Scime

Eberly Distinguished Professor and Chair of Physics, West Virginia University and Mentor, FIRST Robotics Competition Team 2614, MARS; Morgantown, West Virginia

The FIRST program is a great vehicle for pulling kids together and inspiring them to build their own brand of competence. It’s a launch pad for the future of youth everywhere. FIRST breaks the mold for what students think they can do, opening their eyes and changing their lives. One hundred percent of our FIRST students have gone on to college, receiving some sort of scholarship.


INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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April Patrick

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Entire community nourishes growth of STEM education with FIRST

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April Patrick

FIRST LEGO League Jr. Coach; Writer, Director & Producer

My 9-year-old son needed more challenges. A friend suggested FIRST LEGO League Jr., but no teams were found in our Harlem neighborhood. I put out feelers and volunteered my husband as Mentor. Word spread quickly and help arrived from families from all walks of life — an astrophysicist, a LEGO educator, a member of Queens Hall of Science — wow! Their passion for our kids’ success has been heartwarming, and profound. We ended up with three teams and started the first FIRST LEGO League Jr. of Harlem.


INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Kevin Ross

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FIRST inspires student and community leaders

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Kevin Ross

Founder, FIRST Washington; Microsoft (retired)

"Nurturing aspiration is a long-term commitment requiring patience, mentorship, and community. We all aspire to be accepted and valued — to be part of a community. FIRST is more than an organization — it is a very special, very committed community. It provides opportunities for our community members, not just students, to take on leadership roles. They opt to be part of a larger group of people who are genuine, passionate, and selfless with their time."
 

Kevin Ross, founding chairman of FIRST Washington, member of the FIRST Executive Advisory Board, and mentor to FIRST teams in Duvall, Washington, was a design engineer at Microsoft for nearly a decade. In 2017, the Microsoft Alumni Network announced Kevin as its 2017 Microsoft Alumni Integral Fellow for his dedication to igniting the spark for exploration in young people and encouraging them to become technology leaders.


INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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Christina Li

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FIRST taught me valuable coding and leadership skills

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Christina Li

FIRST Alumna, FIRST Robotics Competition Team 217, The Thunder Chickens, of Sterling Heights, Michigan
White House Science Fair participant

FIRST is not only about robots; it's about learning. On my FIRST Robotics Competition team, The Thunder Chickens, I learned how to code from our mentors. It was really cool to see my code controlling an actual robot. I got really interested in computer science. For most of my time on the team, I was the only female programmer.

FIRST gave me the skills and confidence to help change lives in my community. As a result, I was inspired to create a tech camp to help close the gender gap in engineering and introduce more girls to computer science. I named the camp ‘Hello World’ because I wanted girls to say hello to computer science. The phrase, which is the first thing many programmers type out in a new computer science language, is symbolic of all the possibilities with computer science. I hope to show girls that their ability is unlimited.

In 2017, Christina, who is studying computer science and mechanical engineering with a focus on robotics at Stanford University, was featured on CNN Heroes for helping close the gender gap in the tech world.