FIRSTthoughts (previous website, now a YouTube playlist) collects the expertise of individual team members and mentors, and shares it with the greater FIRST community in the spirit of gracious professionalism for years to come. This project aims to tackle the “wealth gap” in experience and resources between veteran and rookie teams, and make the FIRST experience as valuable as possible for all participants.
Team members, mentors, and supporters can make a short, 2-minute video of themselves (or let our handy crew do it for you at select FIRST Regionals) and upload it to YouTube. They can then embed that video on the FIRSTthoughts.org website, where it will be tagged and archived along with the submissions of other participants from around the world. Topics for videos can include anything from a battle plan for fundraising to your team’s nifty trick for fixing leaky pneumatics. Then, when the time comes around when you need the answer to a quick question, or a starting point for your own idea, you can tap into the vast resources of the FIRSTthoughts archives for inspiration.