MISSION, RGV - The value for students in participating in FIRST is not winning robotics competitions but in making connections that can help throughout their career.
That was the message Don Bossi delivered at a FIRST Tech Challenge meet held at Royal Technologies’ plastic injections molding plant in Mission on Saturday.
Bossi, president of FIRST, made his first trip to the Rio Grande Valley this weekend, flying in from his home in New Hampshire. He told the hundreds of students present what a great opportunity the robotics competition provided.
Don. E. Bossi“Where else could you walk up and shake hands with a NASA astronaut, leader of the Texas Workforce Commission, the head of an amazing manufacturing facility?” Bossi said.
“But, there are a lot of other amazing people in this room. They are now part of your network. While you may really care whether you win or lose, how your robot scores, how your engineering notebook is reviewed, I assure you, what you will remember in ten or 20 years is the amazing people that you meet through FIRST. Don’t miss that opportunity.”
Among the VIPs present were retired NASA astronaut Michael Fossum, Mission Mayor Armando O’Caña, Texas Workforce Commission Commissioner Julian Alvarez, McAllen ISD Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez, Mario Lozoya, executive director of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, Matt Ruszczak, executive director of Rio South Texas Economic Council, and Royal Technologies plant manager Trung Cao Nguyen.
Bossi said the thing that concerns him most as head of FIRST is how to get more students involved.
“How do we make this opportunity available and accessible to every single kid everywhere? For better or for worse, you are just a small percentage of all the kids in the Rio Grande Valley,” Bossi said.
“What I am really excited about is the passion and commitment of all the school superintendents, of all the government elected leaders, all the corporate sponsors that are here in this Valley. How they are all pulling together and really, really, really, thinking hard how do I make this type of opportunity available and accessible to everyone.”
In his remarks, Nguyen said Royal Technologies is committed to making a lasting impression in the Valley. He pointed out that the company’s advanced manufacturing plant is 325,000 square feet in size but only 50 percent full.
“We believe in the region. We want to be here for the next 30, 40, 50 years,” Nguyen told the students. “We have talent here, a lot of talent here. Please thank your parents, teachers, coaches. They spend so much time investing in you. Many are spending money out of their own pockets to make this happen.”
Nguyen thanked FIRST RGV for helping to connect students to industry. “Where is this all going? This is about you (students) getting ready for the future. Success can breed arrogance. Be humble, remember your roots in the RGV, show the world what the RGV is all about. Best, show them you are good people.”
Mayor O’Caña, a former educator, said he was thrilled the FIRST RGV competition was being held at Royal Technologies because his administration is keen to partner with private industry.
“I am bringing in a new vision, a new choice, making Mission the city of choice,” O’Caña said.
Commissioner Alvarez pointed out that TWC helps fund the FIRST program in Texas. “Whoever said being a nerd was not cool?” Alvarez asked students. “What we need to do is focus on STEM related occupations.”
Like retired NASA astronaut Michael Fossum, Alvarez pointed out the Valley has changed a lot.
“Fifty years ago this was an agricultural and farming community. There are occupations that did not exist when I was growing up,” he said, referencing the advent of wind farms. “Soon we will see spacecraft launching from our own backyards. You are the best of the best,” Alvarez told students. “Don’t take it for granted. Be humble with your success.”
FIRST RGV President Jason Arms pointed out to Alvarez that 40 percent of FIRST’s participants in the Valley are female.
McAllen ISD's Gonzalez told students that FIRST competitions are not just about building robots. “They are about putting you in a position to problem-solve, putting you in a position to hypothesize, to follow a set of procedures, to collect data, to draw conclusions and to do all that in a team. That is going to help you regardless of what you choose to do (in your career).”
Gonzalez added: “Work hard and have fun.”
Editor's Note: The above news story is the second in a three-part series about FIRST RGV. Click here to read Part One. Part Three will be posted on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019.
