It’s Time for a #FIRSTChamp Curtain Call!
April 26, 2024
For the last few seasons, volunteers at the FIRST® Championship have been given Gracious Professionalism® pins that they can award to individuals to recognize actions that we want to celebrate. (This idea was recommended by the FIRST Hall of Fame teams and California events do something similar.)
FIRST defines Gracious Professionalism as a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community.
Our goal was to use these pins to recognize that acts of Gracious Professionalism don’t have to be grand gestures to be impactful. Very often, small interactions between two people can be impactful and meaningful. We wanted to have a way to recognize and celebrate these moments.
Volunteers are encouraged to submit stories about the person and action that led them to award a pin. Here are a few from this year’s FIRST Championship. I really appreciate that these stories show very often the small interactions, the ones that we may not even realize we’re doing, stick with others the most.
We get what we celebrate. So, an additional thank you to the folks who recognized these actions!
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Name of Person Being Recognized
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Team of Person Being Recognized
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Action Being Recognized
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Duru
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8263
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Comforted a student on another team when they were down and spent quality time with them
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Team
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4311
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This team came to the FIRST® LEGO® League area for some fun and ended up volunteering their whole team (including some young “interns”) to help with the Season Mural for HOURS. Genuine help with care and joy. Thank you so much Team OZone!
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Thomas
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5801
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Thomas helped me out with field reset on his own, helping our crew reset corals between matches while his team loaded onto the field. He was very respectful to me and the rest of the reset crew on Archimedes, a wonderful example of a small act of GP.
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Ecrin
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6436
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Being patient and resourceful while assisting judges to work across the language barrier during their team interview
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Andre
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12887
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One of the teams from Puerto Rico had some stuff stolen over night, including their programming tablet. Andre, being able to speak Spanish, came in and was able to reassure the team that everything was going to be okay. After spending time talking with the team, I could see the joy return to the team and they were ready to compete again.
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Jim
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N/A
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I was filling in as a scorekeeper for a little bit on one of the FIRST® Tech Challenge divisions. Jim was very kind and helped me feel comfortable in the role. I have done score keeping before during the regular season but never at worlds. He checked in with me every so often and made sure I was doing well. I felt very relaxed and comfortable in such an important role.
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Youssef & Mohamed
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24950
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While I was volunteering at the information booth, the students approached me and invited me to have tea and dessert at their team’s pit. I went after my shift ended, and they were kind and generous.
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Morgan
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3928
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She goes above and beyond, caring about others before herself. She takes time to ensure everyone feels like they belong. She puts others before herself with a positive attitude and is always ready to accomplish a task for anyone who needs it
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