My Nonprofit Reviews

FIRST is an organization designed to prepare kids for careers in STEM through competitive robotics. It's been a huge factor in making my high school years rewarding and fulfilling as well as giving them direction: through FIRST, I was able to gain hands-on career-level experience in what I really want to do: software engineering. Not only that, I was able to do it with a tight-knit community of like-minded kids, while making friends with other students from all over the world. Each year, every team designs and builds an 120 pound robot from scratch in just six weeks, to take part in a set challenge. Students learn skills such as design, CAD, electrical, mechanical, and software engineering, project management, and business skills needed to fundraise and keep the team going. It's been one of the most exciting and profitable things I've done with the past four years and I want to continue in the program as a mentor once I graduate high school.