Build Season Recap

Build season for Team 103 is drawing to a close; with it, many of the new members of the team have now had their first full-fledged exposure to the FIRST world. Team 103 has been working for nearly 6 weeks towards accomplishing their major goals in each one of their various departments, and now they are extremely close to reaping the benefits and successes such efforts will yield come time for competition. While every season is filled with dedication and commitment, this year in particular has been a great exemplification of the drive and work ethic of the entire team.
This season, the Public Relations and Marketing department re-vamped its longstanding business plan for the digital age. Such a revolution forced the students in the department to branch out in different ways in order to adapt to the new challenges facing them while continuing the baseline tradition of excellence that has propelled the team for the past 17 seasons. As they redesigned and re-structured the central doctrine of marketing for 103, the department also produced other major projects worthy of note. 103’s video team created a music video exemplifying FIRST using the Black Eyed Peas’ “Dirty Bit”, while also producing a public service announcement that carried FIRST’s message en force. The team also submitted two Woodie Flowers Awards honoring their mentors.
      The manufacturing team streamlined its focus this season, accomplishing many of their goals on time while producing a robot that is as close to bulletproof as could be. As they have in every season in the past, the team has interweaved the expertise of its mentors and the will for success found in the team members to make an apparatus that embodies FIRST to the farthest reaches of possibility. While the game this year was one of the most difficult builds in the entire history of FIRST in some ways, the innovation and inventive minds behind team 103’s manufacturing department  tackled the problem; the growing pains they encountered throughout build season have lead them to develop a product that proves the durability of both 103’s spirit and the willpower of the team members themselves.
Now that competition season is nearly upon us, 103 looks forward to applying the things they have built to the furthest extent possible. Every member of the team knows that FIRST is about much more than robots, and the true reward of this season’s work will be when the members of the team are able to capitalize on the effort they have exhibited while moving towards the better future FIRST allows them to pursue. With any luck, such will be the harvest the team reaps as it prepares to travel to competitions both far and wide, all in the spirit of FIRST.

Written by: Karl Dehmelt
Originally published in the March edition of the Newsletter.