Case Study / Section 04: Leadership, Mentorship & Advocacy
FIRST Robotics: STE(A)M Leadership & Advocacy
A decade of leadership across FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge. Bringing the "A" to STE(A)M by teaching creative design thinking, advancing teams to the World Championship, and lobbying for federal policy on Capitol Hill.
01 / The Mission
Equipping the next generation of innovators requires bringing the "A" (Art & Design) into STE(A)M—fostering creative problem-solving alongside raw technical skills.
Over nearly ten years of service, the goal has been to show youth how design thinking elevates engineering—guiding students to approach complex mechanical constraints with imagination and confidence, while taking that impact to Capitol Hill to advocate for sustained federal STEM/STEAM funding.
02 / Creative Pedagogy & Advocacy
Fostering STE(A)M Creativity
Introduced industrial design principles into the lab—encouraging students to bring artistic creativity, visual storytelling, and human-centered design to their robot mechanisms.
Technical Mentorship & Direction
Directed FLL Challenge programs and mentored high school FTC teams through real-world CAD workflows, structural iteration, programming, and systematic debugging, effective teamwork and communicating their ideas with strength and conviction.
Capitol Hill Policy Advocacy
Attended the National Advocacy Conference (NAAC) in Washington, D.C. for two consecutive years, meeting with Senators and Representatives to lobby for federal STE(A)M education funding.
03 / Impact & Recognition
- World Championship Advancements: Led teams through successful competitive seasons resulting in State tournament appearances, premier out-of-state invitationals, and the FIRST World Championship in Houston.
- Hundreds of Youth Mentored: Helped hundreds of students discover the intersection of art, design, and mechanical engineering over ten years of continuous leadership.
- Legislative Impact: Supported students as they voiced their needs directly to congressional lawmakers, helping protect and expand STE(A)M funding access for kids nationwide.