The FIRST organization engages over 150,000 K-12 students internationally to compete in annual robotics competitions. Students on FIRST teams gain technical skills in mechanical design, manufacturing, electronics and programming as they design and operate their robots, as well as non-technical skills in marketing and presentation as they teach their communities about STEM.
FIRST at Rice allows Rice students who are FIRST alumni to give back by mentoring teams and volunteering at competitions. We are specifically focused on promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM by supporting underprivileged teams whose members are low-income, minority students in East Texas.

This Semester Thus Far

• Hosting a webinar on fundamental and advanced FTC programming leading up to Kickoff
  • Covering FTC topics such as control systems, sensors, vision, motion algorithms and more.

Impact from Spring 2021

• Mentored 4 teams (FLL and FTC) on their Judges’ Meetings leading up to their competitions
• Delivered a 16-lesson, 8-week Java programming curriculum to a 24-student team at Yates HS in Houston
• Provided 3 additional East Texas teams with one-on-one, technical or non-technical mentorship by FIRST at Rice members
• Raised $2550 from Rice’s School of Engineering and Student Activities to support FIRST and our teams
• 47 FIRST Alumni attending Rice constitute the club