What brought you to
FIRST
or
FIRST
Chesapeake?
I got pulled into
FIRST
in 2001 when my oldest joined an FRC team, became a mentor on Team 007 and was recruited into the first class of Senior Mentors. During the roll-out of the
FIRST
Chesapeake District model, I helped with figuring out how to scale up the event volunteer plan. I took a break from FRC for a couple of years and then came back to support
FIRST
Chesapeake.
What is your best memory of being a part of
FIRST
?
There are so many. I've been fortunate to meet hundreds of people through
FIRST
. I have received thank you notes that have made me realize how incredibly fortunate I am.
What was your favorite
FIRST
game challenge and why?
For many of the past 15 years, I have worked with all 4 programs. Honestly, the games are all a blur.
What was your most interesting or oddest job?
I've had a lot of really cool jobs.
I talk about many of them
HERE during a "How I Work" interview.
(and I see that even though that interview was from 2013 - I am talking about not shaking hands!) But the job that seems to interest people a lot is my stint as a "Descriptive Analyst" for a large international company, AKA, a taste tester. I'm pretty good at picking up smells and tastes - and describing them.
What do you wish you could tell your younger self?
Don't worry about not fitting in and remember, not everyone is going to "like" you. It doesn't matter in the big picture.
What are you doing with your spare time?
Cleaning out stuff, especially
FIRST
stuff. Does anyone want 15 years of
FIRST
event badges/lanyards?
What is one thing you'd like to see happen with
FIRST
Chesapeake that you haven't had time to do?
More resources and guidance to help the hardworking Volunteer Coordinators.
What is one thing that most people don't know about you? I was on the US Snow Sculpture team, representing the US in international competition, for 2 years.
