--- title: How Luke Kindelin Uses the FIRST Mentor Network Sponsored by NI to Inspire Students description: NI employee and FIRST mentor Luke Kindelin discusses his experience mentoring with FIRST and the benefits of utilizing the FIRST Mentor Network. image: https://community.firstinspires.org/hubfs/Luke.jpg --- National Mentoring Month celebrates and highlights the importance of mentoring within our communities, schools, and organizations. At *FIRST*®, our coaches and mentors are vital to the success of our students and our programs. The *FIRST*® Mentor Network, sponsored by NI, provides our teams access to passionate, engaged mentors, while giving mentors the opportunity to use their unique skill sets and have meaningful involvement with one or more teams.  In recognition of National Mentoring Month, we talked with NI R&D Test Systems Engineer and four-year *FIRST*® Robotics Competition mentor, Luke Kindelin, about his experience mentoring with *FIRST *and how he brings both his technical skills and commitment to helping students learn and problem-solve to teams in Texas and beyond through the *FIRST *Mentor Network.    ***FIRST *****Staff: How did you get involved with *****FIRST*****?**  **Kindelin: **There was a lunch and learn event at NI where we saw short presentations on several organizations including *FIRST* of Texas. I learned that *FIRST* had a strong need for event judges at an upcoming local *FIRST*® LEGO® League event, so I volunteered to be a robot judge for a single Saturday. After that, I was hooked and got in contact with my state’s *FIRST* Robotics Competition representative to ask if any local teams would be interested in having me as a mentor. I got placed with Team 2789 “TeXplosion” in Manor, Texas and have been there since!     ***FIRST *****Staff**: **How has your employer, NI, supported your volunteerism with *****FIRST*****?**** **  **Kindelin: **Mostly by allowing me to schedule earlier workdays for myself during the build season, so I can arrive at the school at a reasonable time to help with whatever the team needs after I’ve already completed a full workday in the office. I’m on a smaller team with only a few mentors, so each mentor attempts to lead a day or two during the week alongside the coaches, then add on Saturdays when more of us can help with the longer parts of the build.     ***FIRST *****Staff: Why do you mentor with *****FIRST*****?**  **Kindelin: **It’s really rewarding to see the hands-on skills progression that most of the students go through during a season. Working outside of the typical classroom environment has a demonstrable immediate impact on what the students retain and how they approach problem solving. The *FIRST *Core Values and Gracious Professionalism help our team members balance the competitive aspects of events with the deeply cooperative elements that result in some powerful interactions in the local STEM community.     ***FIRST *****Staff:** **What do you think is the most rewarding part of being a volunteer with *****FIRST*****? **  **Kindelin: **For me, it’s like magic when I can observe a slightly more experienced student teaching another peer how to do some tasks and pass along critical knowledge without needing any “adult” involvement. It’s such an important soft skill to learn how to fail gracefully and ask for help, and *FIRST* offers a nicely structured environment for students to make significant progress in building the growth mindset that’ll be so beneficial to have as adults.    ***FIRST *****Staff**: **What advice would you give someone who would like to start mentoring with *****FIRST*****?**  **Kindelin: **Have a look through a few of the videos at [Volunteer | *FIRST* (firstinspires.org)](https://www.firstinspires.org/ways-to-help/volunteer) , and attend a local event if you can! Ask as many questions as you have and ask any of the event staff if they can link you up with an available coach or mentor to walk you through any questions you might not have thought of asking. Having an experienced mentor network to learn from was extremely helpful for me when I was getting started. Additionally, I’d highly recommend connecting with your local [*FIRST* Senior Mentor Program | *FIRST *(firstinspires.org)](https://www.firstinspires.org/ways-to-help/volunteer/senior-mentors) representative if you’d like to get placed on a team that might not be on the *FIRST *Mentor Network yet.     **How to use the *****FIRST *****Mentor Network Sponsored by NI**  A team’s lead coach/mentor 1 or 2 may log into the *FIRST* dashboard and create a 5-minute *FIRST *Mentor Network profile on behalf of their team, then perform searches for mentors their team might like to contact for more help. The *FIRST* Mentor Network sponsored by NI is not meant for student-student or team-team connection, but for adult (18+) mentors to connect with a team’s existing coaches/mentors, or vice versa. Mentors may also perform targeted searches for teams in need of a mentor (either in-person or virtual) and send messages to the coaches/mentors of teams that requested assistance. It is helpful if searching as a team or mentor to message 2-3 mentors or teams, as some might go to spam or otherwise be filtered from the recipient’s view.    To learn more about the *FIRST* Mentor Network, visit [https://info.firstinspires.org/mentor-network.](https://info.firstinspires.org/mentor-network.)   ** [Volunteers](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/volunteers), [FLL](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/fll), [FRC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/frc) #### Share it: [** ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://community.firstinspires.org/how-luke-kindelin-uses-the-first-mentor-network-sponsored-by-ni-to-inspire-students) [** ](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://community.firstinspires.org/how-luke-kindelin-uses-the-first-mentor-network-sponsored-by-ni-to-inspire-students) [** ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://community.firstinspires.org/how-luke-kindelin-uses-the-first-mentor-network-sponsored-by-ni-to-inspire-students) ![Default Author Image](https://community.firstinspires.org/hubfs/Community%20Blog%20v2/images/FIRST-author-icon.svg) Author [FIRST Staff](https://community.firstinspires.org/author/first) These blog posts have been contributed by members of *FIRST* staff. *FIRST* is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Manchester, N.H. ### Related Posts ** [Volunteers](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/volunteers), [FTC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/ftc), [FLL](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/fll), [FRC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/frc) Announcing New Mentor Training, Team Connectivity, & More October 2, 2025 ** [Volunteers](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/volunteers) Celebrating FIRST Mentors During Mentoring Month (January 2023) January 10, 2023 ** [Volunteers](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/volunteers), [Featured](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/featured), [Team Stories](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/team-stories), [Mentor Stories](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/mentor-stories) 10 Ways to Appreciate Your Mentors During Mentoring Month January 2, 2026 ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1200203950045814&ev=PageView&noscript=1) ![](https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?tid=2615041699514&noscript=1) ![](https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?tid=2615041699514&event=PageVisit&noscript=1)