Spotlight on Alumni
WPI Freshman Explains Why FIRST is First with the Coleman Family
Catherine Coleman, right. Photo by Lipofsky.com
For Catherine Coleman, currently a freshman at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), her involvement with FIRST is truly a family affair.
Catherine initially became involved with FIRST through her parents, Michael and Jennifer, who are electrical engineers by training. Catherine herself was bitten by the FIRST bug during her elementary school years at Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, Florida, where both parents coached an Odyssey of the Mind team ─ a program that encourages students to use their creativity to find innovative solutions to problems. And, again when her father coached a Future Cities team ─ a competition that involved building a Sim city and a model city of the future. When Catherine graduated to middle school, she became a member of the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Teams 126 and 57, which were also coached by her parents.
From Team 126 and 57 “WeR4Geekz,” Catherine moved on to FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team 1902 “Exploding Bacon” of Winter Park, Florida; a team she now helps to mentor from afar. “Even though I’m no longer in my hometown, I can still assist my old team. Sometimes I help during the ‘build’ process, and I also function as a scouting mentor at various competitions.”
Catherine recalls her early experiences with FIRST fondly and adds that the Coleman family activities have always revolved around math and science. “Science has always been an integral part of our family life ─ from the excitement and fun of our first Intel digital microscope, which allowed us to look at our lake water and pet parasites, to the 18-foot mosasaur skeleton that hangs over our fireplace.”
She is quite proud of her father’s endeavors with FIRST and mentions that he was instrumental in significantly increasing the number of FTC teams in the state of Florida. Her father has been coaching FTC Team 1902 since its inception in 2006, and has been an Affiliate Partner for FTC in Florida for the past three years. Just recently, he received a Volunteer of the Year for his efforts with FTC.
“This past year, my father was also a member of the FTC game design committee ─ the committee responsible for designing the games that make up next year’s competition. My father is extremely enthusiastic about FIRST; he tries very hard to get the message out; to make the experience both successful and fun.”
But the Coleman connection to FIRST isn’t just paternal. Catherine’s mom ─ of whom she is equally proud ─ is also very involved in the organization. “My mother has co-coached an FLL team for the past five years, and also helps with the non-engineering side of Team 1902,” says Catherine, who explains that her mother’s less technical role with the team includes everything from running fund raising events, to designing logos for team t-shirts, to making travel arrangements for the team members. In addition, Jennifer helps her husband coordinate all of his FTC tournaments, and, in 2008, ran her own FLL tournament at the Orlando Fashion Square. Besides her volunteer efforts with FIRST, Jennifer is a substitute science and drama teacher.
In addition to dad and mom, all of Catherine’s siblings are actively involved with FIRST: Kevin, 19; Victoria, 16; and Gregory, 14, have all been members or mentors of many local FLL, FTC, and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams. And, in an effort to introduce others to the benefits of FIRST, for the past two years the Coleman’s have hosted two live-in exchange students from Asia, who both joined FIRST teams while here.
Catherine says the lessons learned through her involvement with FIRST have been invaluable. “FIRST has taught me so many skills; the organization was really my earliest introduction to a team sport. Through FIRST I learned how to work with others, as well as how to meet goals. While a member of Team 1902, I also learned how to make presentations, how to speak in front of a large group, and how to communicate with adults.” In addition, through FIRST Catherine says she learned how to mentor both younger students as well as her peers. Yet, the college freshman says the most important skill she has acquired during her involvement with FIRST is time management.
“During high school, I was part of the IB program ─ an intensive, accelerated college prep program that included community service work, exams, and a final assessment paper. In order to get everything done each day, I had to learn how to effectively and efficiently manage my time. In the end, I think all of these skills helped to improve my grades.”
Catherine says if it wasn’t for FIRST she wouldn’t be at WPI today. She explains that while at a kick-off event last year, her mother heard about the various programs of study at WPI and suggested Catherine look into the college. In fact, WPI was the only non-southern school to which Catherine applied. Thanks to her work with the FTC Team “and our three-speed robot,” Catherine was awarded a FIRST Scholarship to WPI, where she is pursuing a dual major in robotics engineering and mechanical engineering.
“Because I was a member of a FIRST team during high school, I had already been exposed to the basic concepts behind computer science programming, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering ─ all of which have helped me with my robotics studies.”
Catherine says about 10 percent of the WPI freshmen class had been involved with FIRST prior to coming to the college. Many of her classmates now help to mentor members of WPI’s FRC Team 190 “Gompei and the H.E.R.D.” In addition, they also help run the state FLL event ─ Robonautica ─ and assist with other FLL regional events. Because WPI is a prominent partner of FIRST, many of the college’s professors support the organization by teaching seminars during FIRST events, and, in addition, WPI provides many of the volunteers who lend a hand at the local FRC regional competitions.
While at WPI, Catherine says that she is tapping her experiences with FIRST to help with the local RoboKids program ─ a community service program in which students mentor a group of underprivileged children. This past fall, Catherine assisted with the judging portion of the FLL competition. Catherine also has plans to help at the Florida Regional in fall 2009. In addition, she is volunteering with the Girl Scouts of the USA to help write the curriculum and run a LEGO RCX Robotics camp that covers the basics behind programming, mechanical design, and controls.
Will robotics continue to play a part in her life after graduation? Most certainly, says Catherine, who expects to pursue a profession in the robotics industry once her college courses are completed. She’s considering options in the fields of rehabilitation robotics, prosthetics, and robotics medical devices. “I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing after I graduate, but I know I want robotics to be in my future.”
Catherine says FIRST will always be a big part of her professional and personal life. “I definitely see myself mentoring my old team back in Florida, and I know I will continue my efforts with RoboKids. Next year I expect to mentor a Worcester-area team and hope to judge more competitions in the fall. I just want to keep coming back for more ─ even though my role has changed from student, to mentor and volunteer.”
As Catherine says, once you get a taste of FIRST it’s hard to stop.