Posts

Making Opportunities Happen for Others

Image
GaCo students have many expectations placed on them. One of which is to make the same opportunities and experiences that they have been given happen for as many others as possible. Some may call it giving back - I call it passion. This is a busy time for GaCo supporting over twenty-seven FIRST teams in one way or another - something that would not be possible without the dedication and passion of GaCo students, parents and mentors serving as coaches and mentors for younger FIRST teams. Many of these teams aren’t even in Garrett County but nearby counties in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. In all the chaos of getting all these teams ready for competition, I want to take a moment to say thanks to all who are making these opportunities for others happen. You are making a difference and it is truly appreciated by the students and parents of the teams we are supporting. In doing so, hopefully, you are inspiring others to do the same, and the same, and the same... Imagine the impact that can
Post a Comment
Read more

For what are you most proud?

Image
Proud. adjective and in this case, we’ll take the first definition: 1.feeling deep pleasure or satisfaction as a result of one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions or those of someone with whom one is closely associated. Or, in other words, being proud about something could be something that you’d like everyone to know about you. With this definition in mind, what makes you most proud of GaCo? You probably have heard it said that GaCo makes Garrett County very proud. But why? Is it the awards we have been fortunate to have received or the competitions we have won? Would it be because about 85% of our students go on to pursue STEM related careers? How about the fact that we are a year-round FRC team, meeting diligently every 1st and 3rd Monday of every month? Or that we have over thirty students from two rival high schools on one team? I suppose that all of these things we could make us proud of GaCo. But what makes me most proud is the ability GaCo has to make a difference
Post a Comment
Read more

It's the 15th of October

Image
It’s the 15th of October and it’s becoming more and more apparent that GaCo is much more than just about robots. GaCo is about vision and passion. Recently, I’ve become a fan of bluegrass music. One song in particular has caught my attention entitled “The 15th of October” by Volume Five. Calm down, I know it’s about moonshiners (surprise) and talks about becoming serious about getting their product to market before winter sets in. But to me, the song is about passion. All summer long this crew was sort of half passionate about their craft - which I am not endorsing in anyway! But when the 15th of October came along, it was (in the words of the song) “time to get sober boys.” In the words of GaCo, it’s the 15th of October - it’s time to get even more passionate. GaCo’s vision inspires passion. But it’s time we get even more passionate. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen much passion in GaCo students. For instance, it was passion that drove GaCo students to meet at 5:30am Friday before last t
Post a Comment
Read more

Five Days in the Life of GaCo

Image
Students from the Book of Life Academy around our FRC Robot in Annapolis with GaCo students Kelli Catulle and Cheyenne Reckart Cheyenne and Kelli sharing about FIRST at the MABE Conference When we pulled into the parking lot, GaCo knew we where at the right place! Recipients of a GaCo LEGO Top Spinner after an impromptu Waypoint lesson at the Blue Ridge Brawl offseason event in which  GaCo competed on Saturday, Oct 5, at Salem High School, VA. Mariah and Cheyenne setting up GaCo's Driver's Station at the Blue Ridge Brawl. Last week, from Wednesday to late Saturday night, GaCo logged another 1,250 miles making a difference to students from Annapolis, Maryland, to Wise County, Virginia, located between Kentucky and Tennessee. That’s over twenty hours of driving time! GaCo’s adventure began on Wednesday when we sought out a small private school in Annapolis to teach our STEM Waypoint Lessons to its 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students, about two doze
Post a Comment
Read more

Making Opportunities Happen

Image
I believe that much of the success that GaCo has experienced is the result of taking advantage of opportunity. Opportunity is a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something and, in GaCo’s case, that something is making a difference through “STEM Ready Kids.” Opportunity happened at BoB (off-season competition) with GaCo Senior, Mariah Bolden, volunteering to coordinate student ambassadors - something that would not have happened unless she had taken the opportunity to be a student ambassador at every past FIRST event that she could. Opportunity was also seized by “Loading…” the sophomore FTC team at Northern High School. They partnered with other Maryland FTC teams in a “Robot In 3 Days” competition as part of BoB this year. As a result, Loading… produced an amazing “reveal” video which will inspire many younger FTC teams and help them through this season’s design process. Check out their video on Facebook @FTCteam9445Loading. An impromptu Top Spinner/Binary lesso
1 comment
Read more

4,000

Image
That’s the number of lemonades GaCo made over the summer. Pretty amazing... GaCo is becoming known, not only for its vision of “STEM Ready Kids” but also for its lemonade! Part of the reason of our lemonade’s success is how we make it, old fashioned, fresh squeezed using our secret recipe which we freely share - a perfect example of Gracious Professionalism! The other secret ingredient is attention to detail… every one of our lemonades are made with exactly ⅓ cup (5 squirts) of syrup, ice filled to the top and thoroughly mixed. Even our homemade syrup is made with exactly one cup of water to one cup of sugar. This illustrates a basic GaCo tenet - that success is built not on one great thing but doing small things CONSISTENTLY over time. Of course, selling our lemonade for a family-friendly price of $2.00 doesn’t hurt matters any either… ok, $2.50 at the fair. :) This would not be possible without sacrifice, determination and teamwork - parents, mentors, and students making GaCo, and
Post a Comment
Read more

Making a Difference at Hartman's Liberty Gas Station

Image
One of the six or so youngsters visiting Garrett County over the Labor Day weekend that got one of GaCo's top spinners at Hartman's Liberty Gas Station in Accident, Maryland. Most every Labor Day or Memorial Day weekend you can catch students from FRC 1629, GaCo, offering "full service" at the Liberty Gas Station in the Town of Accident, Maryland. It's more than just a fundraiser. It's an opportunity to share with Garrett County visitors about our program and, if there's an eight year old present, an opportunity to engage our passion. This past labor day weekend we gave away at least six of our top spinners as well as dozens of our GaCo cards. But what I appreciate the most is that it provides an opportunity for "inspiration" to happen - like everything else in FIRST robotics. Inspiration goes both ways. While providing full service on Monday a mom pulled up and enthusiastically greeted us with "I know who you are!" She recounted
Post a Comment
Read more