FIRST Robotics

FIRST is not really a resource, but it's very important to me and I'd like to include it in these first resource posts. FIRST is a non-profit organization that runs multiple youth robotics competitions with the vision of inspiring kids about the benefits of science, technology, engineering, and their careers. The name is an acronym that means For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. It was founded in 1992 by Dean Kamen, an entrepreneur and the inventor of the Segway, and has competitions for elementary, middle, and high school age students.

FIRST is amazing because it promotes the values of science, technology and engineering. They recognize that you can do great things, help the world, and learn valuable life lessons in these fields. They give a competitive, enjoyable, and insightful medium for exploring what these and related careers are all about. The competitions put a focus on learning from adult mentors that can guide and further enrich this experience better than the students could on their own.

I participate in a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) high school team, where teams build robots out of real-world parts in six weeks that plays in a competitive game which changes each year. I have learned a whole lot from the experience and have further strengthened my passion for engineering.