INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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FIRST Alum - Joe Polin

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My career path started with FIRST

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FIRST Alum Joe Polin

FIRST Alum, Volunteer, & Donor

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. 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.”

What did you do after becoming a FIRST alum?
After graduating high school in 2010, I enrolled in mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. From day 1, I realized that FIRST had given me two huge advantages: I had a good idea of what I wanted to do, and I already had experience doing it. Even in my first semester, I found myself well ahead of my peers when it came to mechanical design and “rapid fabrication.” I managed to ride this advantage into a research assistant position in one of the university’s premiere robotics labs, centered around highly agile aerial robots. This ultimately became a stepping stone to a master’s degree at Stanford University, where I switched gears and concentrated in computer science.

Along the way, I’ve worked on all kinds of robots, including those that play (mini) hockey, help perform surgery, help rehabilitate stroke patients, and run Amazon warehouses. Currently, I serve on the Computer Vision and AI arm of Tesla’s self-driving team. In retrospect, every stage of my education and career has paved the way for something new and even more exciting. If you trace back far enough, it all started with FIRST, and that's one of the reasons I continue to donate both my time and money.

What advice do you have for current FIRST participants?
My most concrete advice is: 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. And if you happen to enjoy it, software engineering is arguably the hottest job market today. More generally, find excitement and take pride in what you build. As an engineer, your claim to fame will not be GPA, awards, or degrees: it will be what you have built.

How has your FIRST experience impacted your post-graduation life?
FIRST taught me a slew of technical skills but included a few less concrete lessons as well. Our sole advisor, Bob Ward, was an incredible mentor. He had a wealth of experience building, and as a long-tenured AP Physics teacher, he knew how to communicate tricky concepts. Perhaps his best gift to us, however, was letting us build what we wanted to build. From his perspective, I’m sure our ideas seemed overly ambitious and fantastic (and they usually were). But instead of overruling or criticizing us, he was unceasingly supportive and helpful. He let it be our team, our robot and let us learn our own (often painful) lessons along the way. When I find myself in similar mentorship roles today, whether at work or otherwise, I do my best to channel my inner-Bob.

You’ve continued to be involved with FIRST as an alum; what have you been up to?
FIRST’s impact on my life is so clear and obvious that I have never had to ask, “How can I help pave the way for others?” Throughout undergrad, I helped coordinate FIRST® LEGO® League competitions, once spending weeks building the playing fields by myself. I continue to seek opportunities to give to and promote FIRST, and encourage every student I meet to become involved.

What is your favorite FIRST related memory?
During my freshman year, we made a gamble: Despite having less than two months to design and build our robot, we sent away for a custom-designed frame that would take weeks to come in. With our bold, but carefully crafted schedule, we should finish on time—that is, IF everything went according to plan. It did not. As it turns out, we had accidentally specified stainless steel instead of aluminum, and this put the frame—by itself—over the robot’s weight limit. During the ensuing weeks, we burned through dozens of hole-saw blades as we swiss-cheesed it down to the minimal structure and built the rest of the robot out of wood. It performed about as well as it looked.

Three years later, as a senior, I pushed for a more hedged approach. We carefully designed the robot in CAD, as before, but ordered modular aluminum extrusions that could be modified on the fly. This allowed for more iteration and testing for both hardware and software. That year, we reached the finals, and had a pretty sweet-looking robot to boot.

Visit firstinspires.org/alumni for more FIRST Alumni spotlights. Share your story for a chance to be featured.


INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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FIRST Alum Michael Hodson

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I create innovative automated solutions as a software developer

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Michael Hodson

FIRST Alum & Mentor

FIRST® alum Michael Hodson nurtured his interest in robotics and automation as a programmer on his high school FIRST® Tech Challenge team, the Mecha-Hampsters, in Greenwood, Indiana. Now, he’s a software developer for a specialized combine team at John Deere, coding user interfaces and algorithms to advance technology in the agriculture sector. “The time I spent at robotics meetings really helped cement in my mind my desire to create innovative automated solutions for interesting problems, and now I do that every day,” he says.

What did you do after becoming a FIRST alum?
I joined the Mecha-Hampsters during my junior year of high school; I had friends who’d been on the team already and wanted to join them due to my interest in robotics and automation. We did well my first year, and I learned a lot. I was able to be the face of my team and run our display in the pits. We were even able to go to the FIRST Championship my senior year where we were the captain of an alliance!

In 2013, I graduated from high school and went to Purdue University, where I majored in mechanical engineering, with a minor in electrical engineering. I joined the group Purdue FIRST Programs during the spring and helped to grow FIRST Tech Challenge teams in Indiana. During my junior year I studied abroad in Ireland and coached a FIRST® LEGO® League team while I was there – it was definitely way easier to leave the country than leave FIRST, even for a semester! I graduated from Purdue in 2017, and I now work full time as a software developer at John Deere.

How has your FIRST experience impacted your post-graduation life?
While I was at Purdue, I interned with (FIRST Strategic Partner) John Deere for two summers. Where I grew up in Indiana was around farms, so I knew about John Deere and had a lot of respect for the company and its products; plus, they’re a great sponsor for FIRST teams, and I had lots of friends from Purdue who were working there. If that wasn’t enough, the agriculture sector is way further along than we give credit for when it comes to controls automation and advanced technology.

Now that I’ve graduated, I am a software developer for a specialized combine team at John Deere, working on UI and algorithms. It might seem strange with my mechanical and electrical degree, but I was a lead programmer on my FIRST Tech Challenge team, and it’s a great fit! The work is very challenging and interesting, and each day is different from the previous, which really keeps me on my toes and helps me to learn a lot. We also have a really great team here and work together a lot. Some days it feels like trying to get the robot to move back in my FIRST Tech Challenge days. The time I spent at robotics meetings really helped cement in my mind my desire to create innovative automated solutions for interesting problems, and now I do that every day.

You’ve continued to be involved with FIRST as an alum; what have you been up to?
Last year, I judged for FIRST Tech Challenge at the World Championship in Detroit, which was an amazing experience. I’ve also stayed in touch with the Mecha-Hampsters, the CC Sparks, and the other teams around Purdue that I worked with in the past. More recently I started working with the Winter Soldiers here in the Quad Cities, after they presented at Deere. They had a crazy cool arm robot with no wheels and I helped them figure out the math for moving it in Cartesian coordinates. Those guys are smart; they picked up my college-level coursework in no time flat! One of my favorite mentoring memories is when I taught an artistic student how to design with CAD, and then in a presentation he referred to me as “my mentor” (vs. ‘our mentor’). That really helped me understand the individual impact of mentorship.

Join Michael in volunteering at the FIRST Tech Challenge Iowa Championship or any of the many other FIRST events throughout the season.

Visit firstinspires.org/alumni for more FIRST Alumni spotlights. Share your story for a chance to be featured.


Referee Finds Inspiration in Rural, All-Girls Robotics Program

Feb 06, 2019 By Rob Fyfe, Bechtel Engineer; FIRST Alumnus, Mentor & Referee


As head referee at a FIRST Tech Challenge event in Washington, FIRST alum and Bechtel engineer Rob Fyfe was inspired by the Nerdy Girls, a grassroots robotics community in rural Washington on a mission to plunge girls with no tech experience “into the epic and slightly magical world of robotics.”

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INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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FIRST alum Connor Tinker

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FIRST is about constantly growing, learning, and improving

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Connor Tinker

FIRST Alum, Volunteer, & Mentor

FIRST alum Connor Tinker is from FIRST Robotics Competition Team 4067 “The Incredible Hawks” and FIRST Tech Challenge Team 3113 “Some Disassembly Required” in Clarksville, Maryland. An engineer pursuing a career in planetary sciences, Connor credits FIRST and his team mentors with encouraging him to never stop learning and teaching him how to truly solve problems. “My mentors are my heroes. I did not know it then, but I definitely know it now,” he said. “I know the world to be a challenging place, and I’m glad my mentors took the time to teach me how to fish, instead of fishing for me.” 

What did you do after becoming a FIRST alum?
After graduating from high school and becoming a FIRST alum, I started attending Purdue University. I will graduate in 2021 with two bachelor’s degrees: mechanical engineering and planetary sciences. I work for various organizations, most focused on NASA missions for the exploration of other planetary surfaces. I also spent some time as an intern at NASA Headquarters and was a recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award.

In the future, I plan to get my PhD in Planetary Sciences because the endless knowledge and vast world in space fascinates and inspires me. I seek to apply my engineering skills to developing the next generation of spacecraft and their scientific payloads. Whether I end up in the private, government, or academic sector, my plan is to keep learning as much as I can and then contribute the best work I can toward our understanding of the universe, the celestial bodies within it, and the ways we can utilize its functionality to our advantage.

What advice do you have for current FIRST participants?
What can I say now that would truly be capable of conveying the sheer mass of knowledge, experience, and guidance I have seen over the last few years through FIRST? I offer this simple phrase: “Life is not measured by percentage.” As members of FIRST, you are excellent problem solvers, which ultimately means you will do everything you can to achieve the A’s and do your best. There is much to be learned from failure; perhaps, there is more to learn from failure than success. Limiting ourselves to 100 percent doesn’t allow for more growth. You are now and will always have infinite potential within you. It’s all circular. The more you learn, the more you can learn.

FIRST taught me to never stop learning and I will always make it my goal to continue questioning things and taking in any and all information available to push boundaries because life is limitless. If you want to make a difference in the world, you must be different; you must do different. My advice would be to always seek improvement instead of perfection.
 

Prepare young innovators for the future with FIRST Robotics Competition


How has your FIRST experience impacted your post-graduation life?
My mentors are my heroes. I did not know it then, but I definitely know it now. I know the world to be a challenging place, and I’m glad my mentors took the time to teach me how to fish, instead of fishing for me. FIRST gives you the skills to make a real impact in the world. I did not realize how important this was until I got to college and started to be my own entity. My mentors would often enjoy watching us fail because it was when they saw the most improvement.

FIRST is not about awards; FIRST is not about getting 100 percent; FIRST is about constantly growing, learning, and improving. A mentor’s job is to facilitate this growth; whether it be regarding leadership techniques or other soft and hard skills. A mentor’s job is to help students learn on their own, and sometimes, letting students go down a path even if you know it ends in failure. I learned this the hard way. I always believed that if I warned people, if I told them what happened due to my experiences, they would be learning; however, the best mentors allow this process to happen naturally and encourage the process to expand so students begin to seek more advanced goals and more challenging tasks.

You shared that you’ve made and kept great FIRST friends – any advice to current participants on how to do that?
Networking is KEY. Networking among professionals, in your social lives, in school, everywhere. We build networks because alone we are insufficient. I strongly believe in collaboration. In order to build a strong network, you must be kind, helpful and friendly. Building a network is only useful if this network is formed by individuals who respect you and who are willing to support you. You must offer things to your network, just as they do you. My FIRST friends and I stay connected because we know that together we can achieve more. It is now, more than ever before, easy to stay connected with people online. Social media is a basic starting point, but I have found it most beneficial to attend FIRST events and volunteer while also getting the chance to check in with old and new friends.


10 Tips for Internet Fundraising for Your Classroom or School Team

Jan 16, 2019 By FIRST Staff


Monique Dituri, a DonorsChoose.org Teacher Ambassador and FIRST mentor, shares tips for crowdfunding she’s learned from helping her high school raise over $775,000 on DonorsChoose.org, a platform for U.S. public school and public charter teachers.

INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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FIRST alum David Gomez

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I learned what it takes to be a successful engineer through FIRST

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David Gomez

FIRST Alum

FIRST alum David Gomez is from FIRST Robotics Competition Team 3196, Team SPORK, in Mooresville, North Carolina. Today, he’s an electrical engineer at Fitbit, where he’s using skills he learned through FIRST – including initiative, teamwork, and how to solve abstract problems – to research, design, and manufacture next-gen products. “FIRST really cemented my love for electrical engineering,” he says. “I think the lessons it taught me really put me ahead in college and set me on a great career path.”

What did you do after becoming a FIRST alum?
I work at Fitbit as an electrical engineer and have been in this position for a little over a year, but I was an intern for them before. I am responsible for helping to research, design, and manufacture the next generation of Fitbit products, which is a lot of fun.

How has your FIRST experience impacted your post-graduation life?
FIRST taught me a lot of skills that have impacted my current job. The first is initiative: The robot doesn’t build itself, and the mentors aren’t going to build it for you. If you want that robot to move, you need to get up, do the math, and build. Being an engineer is the same exact way. You must take the initiative to be successful.

FIRST also taught me how to solve an abstract problem. Because no one at FIRST tells you how to design the robot, you must be creative. You are simply given a challenge and have to build a robot to accomplish the tasks. In my current job, I might be told, “Make a fitness tracker that lasts seven days on charge, has a touch screen, and is water proof.” It is extremely hard to fix a problem from scratch because there is no rulebook.

FIRST helped me understand the value of teamwork. Engineering problems are often very difficult and can’t be solved by one person alone. To be a successful engineer, you must learn how to work together, find everyone’s strengths, split up tasks, help each other, and most importantly, have trust that you and your teammates will succeed.

FIRST really cemented my love for electrical engineering. I think the lessons it taught me really put me ahead in college and set me on a great career path. Some of the concepts like “gracious professionalism” stick with me today and shape my worldview.

What advice would you have for current FIRST participants?
Apply yourself! You only get as much out of an experience as you put in, and you can get A LOT out of FIRST. It’s a revolutionary program that is really a great first step into the world of engineering. Not to mention, today is a great time to be an engineer. As you go through engineering school, you will get exposed to and be amazed by all the fantastic things that people are up to. Technology is a powerful force for good in the world, and we are on the brink of some amazing advancements in areas like autonomous vehicles, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and, of course, robotics that will change and improve life to an astounding degree.


Editor’s Note: This story was originally posted on the FIRST NC blog.

Visit firstinspires.org/alumni for more FIRST Alumni spotlights. Share your story for a chance to be featured.


Register to volunteer at an event

Follow these steps to register to volunteer at an event:

1. Create an account in the FIRST Dashboard - sign up is located in the top right corner of this page or by clicking the "Start Volunteer Registration" button below.

2. Click the Volunteer Registration tab & choose ‘Volunteer at an Event’.

3. Filter events by location/ program and select an event.

4. Choose up to five roles and apply.

5. Complete your required youth protection background screening (US & Canada).

You will receive an email from your local event coordinator if you are assigned to a volunteer role.

Follow these steps to mentor with an existing team:

1. Login to the FIRST Dashboard

2. Click on the Volunteer Registration tab & choose 'FIRST Mentor Network'

3. Follow the steps to create your Mentor Profile

4. Complete your required youth protection background screening (US & Canada).

5. Publish your Mentor Profile to see teams that match your profile

 

 

Start Volunteer Registration

 

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Whether a seasoned volunteer or new to FIRST, we recommend taking this "Volunteering with FIRST" training to learn about what FIRST is and what it means to volunteer with FIRST.

INSPIRATION IS EVERWHERE

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FIRST Alumni - Amanda and Robert Stephenson

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FIRST is a family affair

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Amanda and Robert Stephenson

FIRST Alumni & Volunteers

For FIRST Alumni Amanda and Robert Stephenson, FIRST is a family affair. Amanda, from FIRST Robotics Competition Team 527 “Plainedge Red Dragons,” and Robert, from FIRST Robotics Competition Team 871 “West Islip Robotechs,” met in college when Amanda recognized Robert’s FIRST team shirt on campus. Now, the FIRST Alumni are married, volunteering alongside other family members at FIRST events, and newly appointed FIRST Tech Challenge Partners on Long Island in New York.

What did you do after becoming a FIRST Alum?
After becoming FIRST alumni, Robert and Amanda both attended (FIRST Scholarship Provider) Stevens Institute of Technology for undergrad. While Robert majored in electrical engineering, Amanda majored in mechanical engineering. They met officially in their sophomore year of college, when Amanda recognized Robert’s FIRST team shirt on campus. The two are now married and have stayed heavily involved with FIRST.

What are your future plans?
Currently, Amanda works in HVAC system design for buildings in New York City. Her last college internship was in HVAC design and she really enjoyed it. She plans to continue working in the field and achieve her professional engineer’s license. Robert is currently a network engineer at Nomura. He started taking network engineering courses in college and found himself drawn to it. He also plans to continue in his field in the finance industry. They are looking forward to growing their FIRST Tech Challenge Long Island community and growing in their roles as partners.

How has your FIRST experience impacted your post-graduation life?
There are a few things Amanda and Robert’s FIRST experience helped them accomplish post-graduation. Amanda applied to Stevens Institute of Technology after hearing about the school from a graduating teammate. Amanda and Robert both had FIRST leadership experience that helped them land internships their sophomore year of college. They have been able to offer community outreach opportunities with FIRST for their companies. Finally, they have been able to cultivate a network of fellow engineers, past teammates and volunteers that make our FIRST family great.

You’ve continued to be involved with FIRST as an Alum; what have you been up to?
FIRST has become a family affair for the Stephensons. Robert started participating in FIRST at the age of seven, when his dad began mentoring FIRST Robotics Competition Team 270 in 1998. Later Robert and his sister both became members of FIRST Robotics Competition Team 871. Amanda joined FIRST Robotics Competition Team 527 at the start high school. Both Amanda and Robert stayed involved with FIRST during their college careers. Robert volunteered for FIRST Robotics Competition as a referee and robot inspector, while Amanda volunteered as field reset. After college, they began volunteering across all of the FIRST programs on Long Island.

Currently they are co-partners for FIRST Tech Challenge for Long Island. Their partnership works well as they have complementing strengths. Robert is more technically/robot focused, and Amanda is more detail oriented.

If you’re ever at an FIRST Tech Challenge event in Long Island, you’ll be sure to see the whole family there! Robert’s mom is a lead queuer and his dad is a robot inspector and referee.

You shared that you’ve made and kept great FIRST friends/established a great network within the FIRST community – any advice to current participants on how to do that?
Volunteer! Volunteering will keep you active within the FIRST community, even after graduating. Every position either at an event or with teams directly allows you to grow your contacts within FIRST. You’ll start seeing familiar faces at each event you attend, and they slowly turn into a family reunion. Don’t worry about starting too small or jumping right into a position out of your comfort zone; there's is always someone to help.

Visit firstinspires.org/alumni for more FIRST Alumni spotlights. Share your story for a chance to be featured.


How Our Mentors Help Us See Ourselves in STEM

Nov 05, 2018 By Kelli Anderson for EdSurge


Stereotype-smashing teen Zaina Siyed spoke with EdSurge about how she used FIRST LEGO League to coach eight Muslim girls on self-confidence, perseverance, teamwork, and tech literacy and helped them see themselves in STEM fields, as her FIRST coaches had done for her.