Not everyone at a FIRST competition is involved with a team. Some come to see how they, or their companies, can get involved with the organization. Some want to be sponsors, some want to be mentors and some see their companies as the next step after FIRST.
Greg Serio, who founded The People of Manufacturing, sees himself in a couple of these roles. His organization focuses on adult education in the manufacturing space, including matching apprentices with professionals in their field of interest. Greg discusses how FIRST students, after graduating, could find themselves additional on-the-job training in manufacturing and fabrication through this company. He also talks about his initial impressions of the event and his interests for the future.
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.