Newsletter
Press Release
Andrew Keen
(435)-233-8097
2041 W 460 S
andrew@keen-eyes.com
FIRST Tech Challenge Mentoring
Cedar City, Utah, July 18, 2019 – In today’s world, technology is
everything. Technology is the future, as are today’s youth. Youth need to learn
about the technology that is becoming increasingly more common on our world,
and thanks to programs like FIRST, this is becoming easier. Students of all
ages can participate in and compete with robotics, and learn in the process.
However, every team needs leadership, and young students aren’t capable of
getting to competitions and handling the team’s finances on their own. They
don’t understand all of the math and programming involved in robotics. This is
why coaches exist.
In FIRST Tech Challenge, teams are given goals to accomplish, and
must use electronics and any building materials they want to make a robot to
complete tasks. They then use this robot to compete against teams from all
across the state. It’s a fun and educational way to get teens into robotics and
engineering. It allows them a learning experience that school doesn’t provide. There
is still one problem. How are they supposed to learn if they don’t have anyone
to guide them? This is why FIRST has coaches and mentors. These are people with
experience in math, science, and engineering who help guide the students
through the robotics season. They help with with the design process, and teach
useful skills such as math, programming, physics, and Computer Aided Design. As
a coach, it was both fun and educational to teach students more about
engineering, helping them with the design process while learning more about
leadership.
This project was completed through the Southern Utah University
EDGE program. The EDGE program allows students to create a project that will
allow them to benefit the community while learning for themselves. This is what
SUU calls service learning. It’s much like an Eagle Scout Project. It allows
students to learn in a way that normal classes can’t provide, and shows
potential employers that the person they are considering hiring can put
together a project and see it through to completion. It gives students useful
experience that can be used in a future career, which is useful for anybody.
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Resume
Final Reflections
When thinking of an EDGE project that I could do, I wanted to do something that I would enjoy, as well as something that would give me valuable knowledge and experience for my major and future career. I also wanted to do something that I was familiar with so that I could do my project more efficiently and effectively. I chose to help out with FIRST Tech Challenge because it is a program I am familiar with, it is very highly focused on Mechanical Engineering, and I knew that more help is always welcome. The coaches have so much to do to keep the team on track, such as mentoring, handling the funds for the team, and making travel plans for the competitions. Having a coach that can always be there to help the team members by answering questions, providing ideas and suggestions, and helping to assemble the robot is incredibly helpful, and an opportunity that many teams don’t have, due to a lack of coaches. Having more coaches allows the team to be more productive, and it takes a lot of work off of each coach. I would have loved to have that type of help when I competed in this competition, so I knew my project would be beneficial.
For my project, I attended the majority of the team’s meetings, which were held at least twice a week, more when close to competitions. I missed a few when I was sick or had too much homework, but I was there most of the time. At those meetings, I would help the team with brainstorming new ways to complete the challenge, and working out the math for those ideas. I would also help them assemble anything they needed help with, and help with operating power tools. I also helped with building some of the more complex mechanisms, like a two-way linear slide, as it can be confusing to remember how to do it. Aside from the meetings, I also attended the competitions, where I primarily helped with keeping the team on track and making quick repairs after matches.
One of my goals going into the project was to improve the team’s productivity and competition performance. I think I completed that goal. I was on this team a few years earlier, and had also helped out a bit in previous years, so I knew what their past seasons had been like. Everyone was always rushing, nothing was finished on time, the coach didn’t have enough time for everyone, and the team was not very productive overall. The difference this year was very noticeable. The team didn’t move on from state, but the season still went so much smoother, and the team was way ahead of schedule. The robot felt so much more complete than usual, and we weren’t rushing near as much towards the end of the season. As a result, the season was much more enjoyable.
My other goal going into this project was to learn leadership and engineering skills for myself. I definitely learned leadership skills, by keeping the team focused and on schedule. I also gained a better understanding of math and engineering by explaining it to others. I would say that the team probably got more out of it than I did, but I still think it was beneficial for everyone.
Overall, the project was very successful, and I believe everyone involved got something out of it. I learned leadership and engineering, the team’s productivity and performance improved, everyone was more relaxed and seemed to have much more fun than usual, and it was a very enjoyable season.
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