Your contribution to the success of FIRST programs is immeasurable.

A mentor or coach:

Can be a person of any age, teaching others what they know. 

Brings either technical or non-technical expertise to the team.

Provides the opportunity for students to learn directly through experiences.

Mentors are individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds and disciplines who work with students and guide them through the season. We have a lot of smart kids who are eager to learn from people with experience to share. Mentorship is a meaningful way to give back to your community and to be inspired by the next generation of engineers, programmers, and businesspeople! 

Time commitment can vary depending on your availability. Specific mentoring needs include:

• Mechanical Engineering/CAD Modeling - This one requires a larger commitment and is our biggest need. Attendance during our competition season (January - April) is at least 2 meetings per week.

• Grant Writing Leadership - The students do most of the heavy lifting on grants, but there’s a real skill involved with writing them. Help with grant writing could greatly improve the team finances.

• Programming - The team programs in Java and could use guidance on Code Reviews, Efficient Source Control, and Coding Standards.

• Marketing and Media - There’s a good deal of business focus with the team as well. How they sell themselves to competition judges and the other teams they form "alliances" with is very important.

Anyone with professional experience and a desire to give back can be a mentor. Mentors are often FIRST alumni, community members and leaders, professionals (technical or non-technical), employees of corporate sponsors, college students and faculty, and friends or family members of students. 

If you’re interested in mentoring, please email info@decaturrobotics.org. We would love to talk with you!