As the mentor of EQUITUM Robotics, I share this gem of wisdom…Recruit…Recruit...Recruit! There is a lot more to building a robot than just building a robot! And even building requires a lot of hands. We realized early on that we needed a large committed group to make things happen. We started with 34 members. As a group, we decided to publish a school magazine in which we would sell ads. To this end, almost half of our group dedicated themselves as writers and photographers to produce the magazine. Another large portion of the group dedicated themselves to selling ads and boosters to local businesses by going door to door. While there was some crossover most students stuck to their roles and gave 100% to the effort. About 10 students dedicated themselves to design, build and drive team. We realize now that we should have had more than 10 but we were restricted by space. After the success, we had during our first year and the large space we have secured for next year we are expecting a bigger group for year two.
There is a lot to keep track of as a mentor. The best thing to do is find a team that is willing to help. I did not know this but was lucky to have a veteran team reach out to me. The Mechanical Mustangs FRC 3314 hosted the kickoff event for which we registered and, knowing that we were rookies, took the initiative to call us. This was a stroke of luck for us. They helped our team with the build and helped me navigate through deadlines and other important tasks. I don’t think we would have gotten as far without their help. I am much better prepared for year two and I am willing to help any rookie team who comes across our ‘pearls of wisdom’. You can contact me at aalea@ppsstaff.org ! – Ms. Alea, Mentor