FIRST Impact

Author: Reeha Ibrahim

I was in eighth grade when I first saw what robotics truly was. On the surface level, it seemed like an activity too smart for me since I didn’t know how to code or build anything. I was intimidated by the idea, but when my sister invited me to her practice, I decided to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone. There, I saw how technology impacts us from the developer side, not the consumer side. I quickly fell in love with coding. I loved watching how one line can make our robot behave differently. However, the best part about robotics is meeting other people who are like-minded. Through FIRST, I was able to meet amazing people, like Advika and Afomia. The competitions are a great place to network and meet so many new people from different places. I’ve met people from Wisconsin, North Dakota, and even Colorado. FIRST has been truly one of the most amazing experiences and I’m so thankful for the program. Without FIRST, I would’ve never been able to grow my confidence and step out of my comfort zone.