Team Titanium has enjoyed fantastic success both on and off of the field in the past seven years. Along with expanding our team to new and unforeseen heights, we have won ten out of the twelve regionals we have attended. We have been honored with 14 Dean’s List Finalists and 14 different awards. We have a total of 48 trophies from FIRST, and are humbled that five came from World Championships. In addition, last year we received the honor of competing in the Einstein division in St. Louis. These accomplishments look rewarding in a trophy case, however the impact of Team Titanium goes much deeper than this. Many of our significant accomplishments happen miles away from the driver's station; it begins in elementary classrooms and community centers. Team Titanium has become an integral member of the Lee’s Summit community, yet much of FIRST does not know the full extent of the many projects that we do. We are taking this opportunity to let you know about Team Titanium’s “vision.” We will focus our trademarked “eyes” to answer three questions: “What has FIRST done for us?”, “What have we done for FIRST?”, and most importantly, “What has FIRST inspired us to do for others?” What Has FIRST Done For Us?
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FIRST provides us a challenge and platform. Building a robot with budget restrictions and limited time is daunting. However, completing the variety of tasks allows us to “see” the power of hard teamwork and responsibility. Through countless hours we spend together, we foster a sense of acceptance and camaraderie. Our mentors help every step of the way to turn our dreams into reality. Using industry-tested design methods with cutting edge equipment donated by sponsors, we are proud to create award winning robots in our tight-knit Titanium family.
Our motto is “Engineering Engineers.” Due to FIRST, we have learned the true meaning of engineering. Unlike learning the math and memorizing a process on paper, FIRST allows us to learn by doing. The application of engineering principles are what hooks and leads to 96% of current members planning to enter a STEM field. Furthermore, FIRST has provided our alumni with thousands of dollars in scholarship money and been vital in them gaining admittance to some of the nation’s top universities: Harvard, M.I.T., and Purdue.
What Do We Do For FIRST?
Team Titanium “sees” all that FIRST does for us, so we try to give back even more. Whether supporting other FIRST programs, or volunteering at FIRST events, we give our all. We work with students throughout their FIRST careers; starting at Jr. FLL through becoming mentors after graduation. We have sponsored 16 Jr. FLL teams over the past four years. In spite of this, we have been a vital source in helping parents start their own Jr. FLL teams. We have been active in FLL for nine years and have helped 57 teams since. We currently sponsor 7 teams and assist with various others. To introduce our younger siblings to FIRST, we founded Team Aluminum, and an FLL team. We were crucial in starting FLL teams in the gifted program at all 18 elementary schools in our district. We mentored many of these teams and ran local rumbles each year.Three years ago we started a program at another local elementary school; it has already introduced over one hundred students to FIRST. One of our team members went on to become a coach after mentoring a Jr. FLL team. Going forward, a student is working with schools overseas, to bring FLL to students in Okinawa, Japan. They plan to start next year. Our total contribution to FLL runs much deeper than finances or sponsoring. We have provided NXT and EV3 programming instruction to over 3,500 students and inspired countless families, groups, and schools to increase STEM funding. We have loaned NXT kits to groups to assist them in starting teams. In addition, we run weekly summer camps that allow students to continue their learning while school is not in session. We have found that these camps are a successful way to introduce students to our team. Our volunteers have staffed FLL tournaments for the last 8 years. We have provided referees, judges, scorekeepers, queuers, and others. This year, 26 team members, mentors, and alumni helped with the qualifiers. One of our mentors has even become
FIRST provides us a challenge and platform. Building a robot with budget restrictions and limited time is daunting. However, completing the variety of tasks allows us to “see” the power of hard teamwork and responsibility. Through countless hours we spend together, we foster a sense of acceptance and camaraderie. Our mentors help every step of the way to turn our dreams into reality. Using industry-tested design methods with cutting edge equipment donated by sponsors, we are proud to create award winning robots in our tight-knit Titanium family.
Our motto is “Engineering Engineers.” Due to FIRST, we have learned the true meaning of engineering. Unlike learning the math and memorizing a process on paper, FIRST allows us to learn by doing. The application of engineering principles are what hooks and leads to 96% of current members planning to enter a STEM field. Furthermore, FIRST has provided our alumni with thousands of dollars in scholarship money and been vital in them gaining admittance to some of the nation’s top universities: Harvard, M.I.T., and Purdue.
What Do We Do For FIRST?
Team Titanium “sees” all that FIRST does for us, so we try to give back even more. Whether supporting other FIRST programs, or volunteering at FIRST events, we give our all. We work with students throughout their FIRST careers; starting at Jr. FLL through becoming mentors after graduation. We have sponsored 16 Jr. FLL teams over the past four years. In spite of this, we have been a vital source in helping parents start their own Jr. FLL teams. We have been active in FLL for nine years and have helped 57 teams since. We currently sponsor 7 teams and assist with various others. To introduce our younger siblings to FIRST, we founded Team Aluminum, and an FLL team. We were crucial in starting FLL teams in the gifted program at all 18 elementary schools in our district. We mentored many of these teams and ran local rumbles each year.Three years ago we started a program at another local elementary school; it has already introduced over one hundred students to FIRST. One of our team members went on to become a coach after mentoring a Jr. FLL team. Going forward, a student is working with schools overseas, to bring FLL to students in Okinawa, Japan. They plan to start next year. Our total contribution to FLL runs much deeper than finances or sponsoring. We have provided NXT and EV3 programming instruction to over 3,500 students and inspired countless families, groups, and schools to increase STEM funding. We have loaned NXT kits to groups to assist them in starting teams. In addition, we run weekly summer camps that allow students to continue their learning while school is not in session. We have found that these camps are a successful way to introduce students to our team. Our volunteers have staffed FLL tournaments for the last 8 years. We have provided referees, judges, scorekeepers, queuers, and others. This year, 26 team members, mentors, and alumni helped with the qualifiers. One of our mentors has even become