FIRST Newsletter - June 2011 - Allaire Scholarship
2011 Paul Allaire Medal and Scholarship Winner - Rebecca Puanani Barone
Rebecca Puanani Barone with FRC Team 359 Mentor, Glenn Lee
The Chairman’s Award was created to keep the central focus of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) on our ultimate goal of transforming the culture, in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encourage more of today’s youth to become scientists, engineers, and technologists.
The Chairman’s Award represents the spirit of FIRST: it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate, and that embodies the goals and purpose of FIRST. It is presented to the FIRST team judged to have the best partnership effort, and remains the most prestigious team award at FIRST.
The team selected to receive the Chairman’s Award at the FRC Championship has the additional honor of identifying one of its junior or senior student members who best exemplifies the FIRST mission and who most demonstrates proven leadership both on his/her team and in his/her community. This student is then awarded the Paul Allaire Medal and an accompanying scholarship of up to $10,000 to the college or university of his/her choice.
The 2011 Chairman’s Award winner was Team 359, "Hawaiian Kids," from Waialua, Hawaii.
After serious deliberation, the members of Team 359 have chosen to bestow the Allaire Medal on team member Rebecca Puanani Barone. Team Mentor Glenn Lee explains, ”Our team has selected Rebecca, our lead student on the Chairman's Award team, for her leadership and tireless effort to document our team's endeavors over the past three years. Because of her vision and determination, we were able to accurately portray all of the positive outreach, challenges, sustainable short- and long-term goals, and learning experiences that the FIRST Robotics Competition program had to offer our team, community, and state. It was important to Rebecca that we show just how much of an impact FIRST has had on all of the students (both current and former), teachers, Volunteers, community, and Sponsors. Because of the recent successes of our program, she was most proud of being able to leverage that success in helping other teams and programs around the state and beyond. The Waialua Robotics team will forever remember the impact this student has had on the rest of the team. Imua Waialua!”
Rebecca will be attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa next fall.
