We’d like to welcome Gabe Cook as our new Co-President! This year Robin Lee (StudentsFIRST Founder) and Gabe will be Co-Presidents. Gabe was one of the original Officers for StudentsFIRST and provided invaluable early support. Thank you, Gabe, for stepping up to the Co-President role! Here are some words from Gabe:
Welcome back teams, fans and Supporters of StudentsFIRST. My Name is Gabe Cook, and I will be the new co-president working on a lot of the behind-the-scenes aspects that go into running an organization like this. First, I would like to introduce myself. I was on an FRC team for 5 years and at the beginning of this academic year my higher education began at Rochester Institute of Technology. While I am no longer on an FRC or other FIRST team, I am still very much involved in FIRST and with what Students First is trying to do.
If you know of or are on a team that puts its students first and you are not already a StudentsFIRST team, now is the perfect time to sign up. Our goal is to have even more teams commit to putting their students in places of power than ever before. For more information on becoming a Students First team or where our teams are located please visit our website studentsfirst.tech. I look forward to meeting some of you at competitions this year.
As the Great Woodie Flowers once said, “Competition for the sake not of destroying one another, but for the sake of bettering and improving both competitors as a result of the competition.” With that, teams, good luck, have fun, and be safe.
We’d also like to welcome Miller Woods who is our newest Officer! Miller is from Tacoma, Washington and is the Sustainability Lead for the SOTAbots, FRC Team 2557. Thanks for joining the party, Miller! Here are some words from Miller:
As someone deeply invested in the mission of FIRST, I value the emphasis on inspiring students and fostering hands-on learning in STEM. However, the practice of mentor-built robots raises concerns to me due to the lack of learning it provides for students.
From my perspective, the essence of FRC lies in students taking ownership of the design, engineering, and problem-solving processes. While mentors play a vital role in teaching and guiding, the final outcomes should reflect the creativity and effort of the students themselves, and not the creation of mentors. When this balance tips toward mentor-driven projects, it can undermine the confidence and skills students gain from the building experience.
I believe it’s important to address this issue to ensure that FRC remains true to its core values of inspiration and student development. Encouraging a transparent and equitable environment for all teams would not only enhance the learning experience but also maintain the integrity of the competition.
Would you like to get more involved with StudentsFIRST? We’re looking for officers for each region of the 10+ countries with StudentsFIRST members.
What does it mean to be an Officer? As an Officer you pledge to uphold the mission of StudentsFIRST. You can contribute as much or as little as your schedule allows. Primarily we’re hoping you will represent StudentsFIRST in your region by spreading our message, distributing our materials at events, and inviting people to become members. But there are other things you can do! You can contribute ideas, write for the website or newsletter, fundraise to pay for our swag, or help with social media. Want to be an Officer? Tell us about yourself! Reply to this newsletter or email us at Contact@StudentsFIRST.tech.
Learn about all of our officers on our Officers Page.