Tell us your story

Those of us involved with FIRST are lucky enough to be part of a movement - one which is changing the world. We often talk about the "really big" issues associated with an educated population, the ability to solve tough environmental problems, and how cultures evolve based on their ability to use technology effectively.

All that is absolutely true - and it's powerful. It's also true that these really big changes come from thousands of people involved in FIRST as team members, volunteers, and a small staff. Every one of these people have individual stories about how FIRST changed them, their communities, their schools, and their prospects for a better future.

We are lucky to hear many of these stories in "real time" as we interact with you.

What we'd like to do is collect these stories - and pass them along to others. This is how tribes grow, and this is how FIRST has grown. The fact we can communicate easier than ever before makes this story telling easier.

Please send your story to us at stories@usfirst.org. The only guideline to submit is total honesty in conveying your story. If you don't want real names used please tell us - but also please send these stories from a valid email address in case we need to get in touch with you. We will respect your privacy completely.

I'd like to sprinkle these stories into this blog to give you all an feel for what is going on in the FIRST world. Please share your stories with us and help us continue to change the culture.

Below is a story recently submitted by a team:

My husband and I home-school our four children, and neither one of us is an engineer. We first heard about the robotics activities through another parent while attending an unrelated science-technology-engineering-mathematics (STEM) activity held at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). Excited, I tried to initiate a robotics program for teens within the engineering department of UDC, but it was not be. The good news was that during those struggling weeks, I met Denise (Job) Lewis, Washington DC's robotics missionary. She let us tag along with her teams for the rest of the season. Hooked, we joined Mrs. Lewis' fledgling FTC team for our rookie season.

Our children will never be the same! They built engineering skills, vocabulary and networks, not just a machine. They are confident--they speak to, answer questions for, and demonstrate their robot for strangers comfortably. The children think laterally and understand the essential nature of planning. They own the design cycle and are already incorporating the lessons from last year in this season's strategies. The kids are more ambitious and less fearful as a result of the immediate feedback that only hands-on experiences can lend. They believe that they can contend on a playing field that was out of reach for most of my generation. I could go on and on, not just about my own children, but about the flowering of the entire FTC team. We are all looking forward to an even mightier FTC season this year with an eye toward the FRC level eventually. We are exceedingly blessed to be involved and to share what we learn about the robotics community with other families.