FIRST—For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. To many of us, this acronym actually means something. Personally, this means respect, learning, trust, struggle, but most importantly, fun and teamwork. Whether it be FLL or FRC, today many kids across the world are getting involved. I am happy to say I am one of them. Being new to my team, I was ready to begin my act as a human sponge, readily soaking up all the knowledge I could possibly capacitate. However, there are many examples of new kids’ opinions of the FIRST Robotics Competition. Yet, this case is different. I believe it’s time for a little female insight of the FRC world.

The FRC community is dominated by men, a place where the minority of girls is usually few and far in-between. On Team 930 alone, there are only six girls, including two mentors. I believe that being a girl on the team isn’t just beneficial to the team, but to myself also. I have not only learned many new concepts and skills, but I have learned about myself. I have learned how to be more confident in myself and do things to challenge myself instead of shy away from things I normally might not attempt. I have raised my self esteem and independence by joining this team and doing things I’ve never thought I would be able to do. I’ve learned about things I enjoy doing on the team and more about the way I think. It’s amazing to see that being a part of FRC is doing this for me. I’m also surprised at the comradery and friendship I’ve gained by being on the team. I value everything I’ve learned and accomplished so far and cannot wait for the rest of my FRC career.

I think subconsciously, that is part of the reason I joined the team in the first place. I am the type of girl that loves to learn and I already knew that I liked working with my hands and building things, so why not a robot? As an incoming freshman, I was also looking for ways to integrate myself into the high school life too. Joining the high school’s robotics team seemed like a good way to do just that and I have to say, I wasn’t quite sure of what I expected when the season actually started. I had a ton of fun fund-raising throughout the summer and the occasional team meeting. When the season did start, I was excited as can be for kickoff and couldn’t wait to find out what the FIRST Robotics Competition was about. I think the only thing I had expected that was different was the passing of the time. I had no clue that it would pass so quickly, and was rather surprised whenever the time frame for our work was updated. Our time with the robot is gradually becoming shorter, meaning shipping is right around the corner. I’ll hate to see the robot get shipped off, but I am looking forward to regionals and competition time.

Overall, I am really glad that I have joined my high school’s robotics team, and I don’t know what I would have done otherwise. The experiences robotics has given me are amazing and I don’t think I would trade them for anything else. As a new person, and a girl, FRC has given me quite the experience, and that’s only so far. I look forward to the future and I most definitely see FIRST and FRC in it.