FIRST events run thanks to the kindness of volunteers. Between judges, referees, coaches, pit crews and more, almost everyone involved is a volunteer. While parents, alumni and community members make up a large percentage of the volunteers, some teams get involved in volunteering as well.
In the Tampa area, the TechnoKnights are well-known for their volunteer time. Their coach is a referee, their students help out at almost all events, and they even offer their school for competitions. Around all of the volunteering, they still find time to run a successful FTC team that is one of the most spirited around.
We spoke with team captain Alana Lindie about her role on the team, her experiences with FIRST and her plans after school.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
Daniele is a student at Florida Polytechnic University who is studying Computer Science with a concentration in Cyber Security. In High School, she was introduced to the science and technology world through the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a robotics foundation where students of varying ages can compete through tasks that their robots perform. With help from mentors she met through FIRST, she became interested in programming and developing. Today, Daniele is a special events host for F5 Live: Refreshing Technology and PLuGHiTz Live Special Events and a co-host for both The New Product Launchpad and FIRST Looks.
