Volunteering with FIRST: A Family Affair

FIRST is an organization whose mission is to show students of every age that science, technology, and problem-solving are not only fun and rewarding, but are proven paths to successful careers and a bright future for us all.  Yet, for so many of us, FIRSTtouches so much more of our lives than just introducing us to a world of science and innovation. For George Marchant, FIRST has been a part of his life for fifteen years, ten of which was spent volunteering for FIRST Tech Challenge(FTC).

His initial introduction to FTC was at its very inception. �When I heard about the demo event that was scheduled for the 2005 World Championship. FTC was always attractive to me as I see the entry cost of the FIRST Robotics Competition as a barrier to many school districts in lower income communities, or areas without major engineering sponsors.  I also think that FTC allows teams to be formed from groups outside the school system such as Girl Scouts, 4-H, or Home school organizations.�

Volunteering with FIRSTwas initially overwhelming, George says, with thoughts of, �Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into.� running through his brain. But it wasn�t long before he �found that [he] really enjoyed working with the students�[he] felt that FIRST was the type of thing that was missing when [he] was in High School.� What he didn�t know, was how the decision to volunteer �would lead to hundreds and hundreds of hours of volunteering.  Not one hour of which do I regret.�

However, even more than just giving back to FIRST, George believes that �FIRST can be life changing. Literally.  I have a group of friends through FIRST that have become like my family.  I had the teacher who leads my old FRC team and a former team alumnus who is now a close friend as groomsmen at my wedding.  A wedding that never would have happened if I had not worked as the FTC Program Director, since I met my wife while I was in New Hampshire.�

FIRST does not stop when the event is over, the season completed, or the students graduate from their program. It continues on for as long as you want. George states �that it becomes a family affair.  My wife knew what she was getting into when she married me, but I'm not sure she realized that I'd be convincing her to volunteer in a large number of qualifiers, state championships, super-regionals, and the World Championship.  And our new son will be with us as soon as he is old enough to help.�