Mentor: Leandro Giovanni Barajas
IEEE Senior Member
Staff Researcher, General Motors
Troy, MI

What is your favorite part about this competition?

“Helping this group of tremendously motivated kids to realize their full potential and giving them an edge in life by showing them what can be achieved through disciplined work and by setting stretch targets.”

Mentor: Mark Dobbs
IEEE Member
Telecommunications Engineer, Duke Energy
Indianapolis, IN

Why did you decide to become a mentor?

“My daughter was on the team starting in 2004. I found the program to be pretty exciting and fun and I wanted to do my part to share my experiences in the working world and help the students along in their careers. I was part of the team’s parent crew until I was invited to be a mentor in 2006. I got the opportunity to work alongside my daughter for two years before she graduated from the school in 2007. I still find it very rewarding.”

Mentor: Matt Morrise
IEEE member
Principal Engineer, Intel Corporation
Portland, OR

What is your favorite part about this competition?

“I mentored the coding team and love C++ and teaching it to the students. This is one situation where teenagers value your advice – you can't beat that!”

Mentor: David Wachenschwanz
IEEE Senior Member
Vice President of Engineering, Western Digital
San Jose, CA

Why should other IEEE members become involved?

“IEEE members should feel the obligation to teach kids about engineering and encourage them to explore it as a possible career. I find the experience to be rewarding and a lot of fun as well. It has taught me new things that I have also applied to my real job.”

Mentor: David Page
IEEE Member
Software Developer, SAS Institute
Raleigh, NC

Why should other IEEE members become involved?

“It is a great chance to help inspire future engineering students and remind yourself why you're an engineer. The rapid pace of the season and close relationship with other engineering disciplines is a great chance to learn something new every day.”

Mentor: Dereck Wonnacott
IEEE Student Member
Student, Lake Superior State University
Sault Ste. Marie, MI

What is your favorite part about this competition?

“I know that when I was young and learning about electronics and computers, I was on my own. I really enjoy giving kids the mentorship that I wanted along the way. The fact that high school students can have access to the best engineers in the world through FIRST is just amazing and I even enjoy having the opportunity to meet some outstanding people.”

Mentor: Mauri Laitinen
IEEE Affiliate Member
Cupertino, CA
Consultant

How do students benefit from participating in FIRST?

“FIRST alumni have real experience that puts them ahead. A recent high school graduate came back and told me that he was one two mechanical engineering students (at U.C. Berkeley, no less) on a solar-powered car project who knew how to use hand and power tools. Electrical engineering students have already had to analyze and debug some pretty complex electrical and software problems on the robots. This experience gives the students a stronger framework for understanding and using abstract concepts. Most non-FIRST students don't get this level of understanding until their senior year or grad school.”

Mentor: Ron Pyke
IEEE Professional Member
Senior Member of Consulting Staff, Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Bellevue, WA

How do students benefit from participating in FIRST?

“The competition and designing and building the robot bring a lot of lessons from courses like math, physics and computer science from head knowledge to practice, and I think the students start to develop their own experience and intuition for what works well and what doesn’t. FIRST stresses gracious professionalism, which encourages teamwork not only within the individual teams, but also across the teams as they compete and even occasionally lend a hand to help other teams. This prepares them well for the working world, where they will need to work with multiple teams within an organization.”

Mentor: Ashley Walker
IEEE Student Member
Student, Olin College of Engineering
Needham, MA

Why did you decide to become a mentor?

“I started mentoring FIRST teams in the fall of 2005. I was a product of a robotics team in high school and wanted to give the next version of me the same chance I had. I have memories of being handed the rather simple (but complex to me at the time) power system and wiring diagram, being sent out into the hall, and told not to come back in until it was working. I loved having to put the puzzle together and make it work. Had it not been for those little plywood robots I would not be an engineer right now. I want to find the next version of me and give her the chance to see that engineering is an option.”

Mentor: Don May
IEEE Member
Senior Principal Engineer, The PTR Group
Vienna, VA

What is your favorite part about this competition?

“Seeing how excited the kids are about the whole experience and being able to help them accomplish their goals.”

Mentor: Jon Anderson
IEEE Member
Software Engineer, Rockwell Automation
Cedarburg, WI

Why did you decide to become a mentor?

“I enjoy teaching and guiding the high school students through the engineering process. The best part is watching the students come up with ideas and realize them over the build season. I began mentoring a team in 2002 as a freshman at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. I decided to join my fellow engineering students in forming the first FIRST team in Milwaukee after seeing a few competitions while in high school and talking to former participants.”

Mentor: Henry Karwacki
IEEE Member
Senior Principal Engineer, BAE Systems
Salem, NH

Why did you decide to become a mentor?

“I became interested in mentoring after volunteering at the New Hampshire Regionals. I had been thinking about it for a while, and the energy and excitement of the students convinced me to mentor. I love the excitement and interest in learning the students have and my personal satisfaction in helping them expand their knowledge.”

Team 692

Mentor: Daniel Styer
IEEE Member
Engineering Department Chair, Sacramento City College
Sacramento, CA

Why should other IEEE members become involved?

“I think that dedicated IEEE members should get involved in FIRST. However, they should only get involved if they have the time and dedication to follow-up. It takes a lot of effort. Our daughter was interested in participating on the team and I saw an opportunity to participate. It is quite enjoyable to see the students realize that the math they are learning can be put to use.”