Documents | 2011 Chairmans Questions
2011 Chairman's Short Answer responses
1. Briefly describe the impact of the FIRST program on team participants with special emphasis on the 2009/2010
year and the preceding two years.
With 80% of our alumni in STEM fields, and 73% studying engineering, 1912's members live the impact
of FIRST, and have mentored FIRST teams in college. Members learned skills in design, fabrication,
Autodesk Inventor, 3dsMax, HTML, Java, LabVIEW, budgeting, giving presentations, volunteering and
confidence in their own abilities. Their FIRST experience earned prestigious national awards,
valuable scholarships, and admission to MIT, Georgia Tech, Duke, and other world-renowned
universities
2. Examples of role model characteristics for other teams to emulate
1912 has served as a role model in the FIRST community, mentoring other teams extensively and
volunteering in the community. We have mentored 7 FRC and 3 FLL teams, and have volunteered at FLL
and FRC regionals and nationals. As a two-time Beta Test team, we have hosted and worked at 4 local
Jumpstart builds. With a strong focus on volunteering, we have demoed for politicians, children, and
businesses alike. We also pride ourselves on diversity; 5 of our 6 presidents have been women
3. Describe the impact of the FIRST program on your team and community with special emphasis on the 2009/2010
year and the preceding two years
As part of a tradition of community service, we have volunteered 5 times at the Slidell City Clean-up,
demoed our robot for 4 years at the 4th of July Festival, and held workshops with our partner Truth
180 for 2 years. With the Slidell Women's Civic Club, we marched in the Krewe of Slidellians parade,
donated toiletries, and adopted low-income students for holiday gifts. We received a Proclamation at
the State Capitol demo, and were honored at Slidell City Council and School Board meetings
4. Team's innovative methods to spread the FIRST message
1912 spreads science and technology in our community with volunteering and demos at Science Camp,
Leadership Camp, Fit as a Firefighter camp, NDEP Bonne Ecole's Science Night, and NASA's STEM-ulate
event. We have organized a demo at our Capitol, an annual Open House, and acted as a main force behind
3D South Camp's animation seminars. Our muddy volunteering at the Big Branch marsh restoration as well
as our marching in the Krewe of Slidellians parade sparked newfound interest in FIRST.
5. Describe the strength of your partnership with special emphasis on the 2009/2010 year and the preceding two
years
1912 builds strong partnerships with our sponsors, visiting them every year with custom plaques. For 4
years we have been a Stennis House Team, and for 3 years QinetiQ has allowed us to build at their
facility, where we host our annual Open House. We work multiple activities for charities such as Truth
180 and Slidell Women's Civic Club. After 4 Jumpstart builds, we are the go-to team for technical and
administrative help. Our hard work has made us the face of robotics in our region.
6. Team's communication methods and results
1912 utilizes our website, newsletters, brochures, and email blasts to keep our public informed. We
share ideas via YouTube and web documents, as well as social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.
We connect with our student body on Club Day and on our school bulletin board. Along with partner Team
2771, 1912 will provide the first ever webcast of the Bayou Regional. While our varied methods keep us
connected with our community, we understand there is no substitute for personal interaction.
7. Other matters of interest to the FIRST judges
1912 celebrates the end of a season with our annual pool party, giving out spoof awards to team
members. The team shows its generosity by giving donations: 3 years of flooring to Habitat for
Humanity, old uniforms to Christian Community Concern, holiday gifts, and Red Cross donations. This
summer we held Inventor and 3ds Max biweekly classes open to area teams. We participated in the FIRST
Green e-watt Saver Program. At our high school, we inspired a teacher to start an Engineering Class.
