First Day of Qualifiers
I woke up earlier than usual. I had time to go downstairs to the restaurant and eat breakfast instead of a smoothie. After that, my group trailed to the metro train. Next, we went upstairs to the FIRST Tech Challenge pits, collecting pins and meeting new people. We encountered an all-girls Nigerian team and took pictures. (Robot pits are spaces that each team has been provided to work on their robots and set up shop).
Additionally, we took pictures with teams from Jamaica, Taiwan, and Korea. Adding on to our streak, we met a group from Kazakhstan, a country in Central Asia, south of the Russian border. My eyes lit up when I saw their turquoise and yellow flags because Central Asia gets very little representation. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan are rarely mentioned, at least in America. Of course, we took plenty of pictures with them. After we toured some more robot pits, we went downstairs and gathered our other friends to view other teams.
Collecting buttons and viewing other teams' working areas, we met people from across the country and worldwide. For instance, we met two crews from Turkey, one of them was from Istanbul, Team 2905. They were bubbly and friendly and gave us delicious chocolate from their home country. We visited teams from Israel, India, Mexico, Colorado, Massachusetts, Louisiana, and all over really. Walking around, learning about other cultures, admiring the decorative robot pits, playing games, etc., made me miss a conference that my team signed me up for that FIRST was sponsoring. I’ll find another conference to attend - they are all interesting.
Soon, we moved on from looking at pits and decided to go to the Innovation Fair on the third floor. It is a career fair where you learn about different jobs or programs that companies or organizations offer. NASA, Disney, and many other companies' booths filled the room. Excitedly, I bounced over to the NASA booth to learn if they have internships or summer programs for high school students. Talking to the speaker, I learned that he knew about the Commodore's Robotics, as a student at Georgia Tech - how cool! So, of course, I asked for his email and will hopefully keep in contact with him. Janessa, my friend, was thrilled to see the Disney booth, and she learned more about the programs they offer.
Suddenly, I got a headache and realized that I hadn't eaten in hours. So my friends and I went out to eat. When I sat down, I was called to the pits to talk to the judges. They were there to learn about our team and our team’s community outreach. I was a part of a small team of Commodores who presented for the Chairman’s Award at the Georgia competitions. We shared information about The Commodore Gardens, our GroupUp project at 4C aimed at having an impact on food insecurity in south Albany. Judging by their expressions, I think they were impressed with our school and our outreach. I stuffed my food in my mouth and sprinted towards our pit. As I was catching up on how our robot was doing, a couple of my friends met Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST robotics. I was a little jealous. After that, I went to the stands and watched a couple of matches.
As the sun drowned into the abyss over the Texas sky, the event center got sparse, and the first day of Qualifiers was over. My team went to the Shake Shack for dinner. When we got to the hotel, everyone decided to go down to the pool. However, I stayed in the room to clean up and rest a little. Today was chaotic and exhausting, but meeting so many different people and learning more about other careers made my future goals more achievable and clear.
Our scavenger hunt for today was to take three pictures of our team with teams from foreign countries and two pictures of our team with teams outside of the Southeast. Additionally, we needed to send a picture of the most unique giveaway item from another team. Lastly, there was a bonus for the group that got a picture with Dean Kamen. I am happy to announce that my group achieved every single challenge. I can’t wait for tomorrow!
