If a group of students are given the tools to build a robot, they will likely find a variety of different ways to build it. They may succeed, but even if they do, they will be bound to the same challenges of the past - after all, they wouldn't be the first in the world to build a robot. In order to get the full experience, they need to be able to speak with people who have done it before; they need to be able to speak with an experienced individual who is willing to reveal common problems and solutions to them, so that history is not repeated. They need a mentor.
FIRST is a unique competition in that it allows students to have mentors. A mentor is someone who has prior experience working with a specific technology. For example: when creating a new drawing of the robot, a mentor would be able to help the student using their past experiences. The student will be able to learn much more than if they had tried to solve the problem using online guides. The mentoring program helps to accelerate students' learning.
A mentor can be almost anyone: a parent, a former student who has moved to post-secondary education, or a professional already working in the industry. Our team is lucky to have talented mentors from General Motors to guide our progress with their expert advice.
The students of Team 1114 - Simbotics would like to extend their greatest thanks to all those who tirelessly gave so much of their time to help prepare us for the future. Thank you to all of our mentors!
