Kimberley Prygocki-Jeakins, Development Data Manager at FIRST Headquarters, pictured here with BB-8, who made a special appearance at the 2019 RiverRage, a FIRST Robotics Competition off-season event.

For Kimberley Prygocki-Jeakins, FIRST is more than a day job. Her roots go back to her days as a student at Manchester Memorial High School in Manchester, NH, where the very first FIRST competition was held back in 1992. Kimberley was a member of FIRST Robotics Competition Team 238, the Crusaders, there. She returned to mentor the team in 2013 and is currently the lead mentor for the team’s Community division, focused on outreach, sponsorships, awards, and media.

KPJ, as her team now calls her, has a background in psychology, computer science, and information management. Prior to joining FIRST, she was Vice President of Operations at Member Benefits, a member recognition program for PBS/NPR stations across the country.

Since 2012, Kimberley has been the Development Data Manager at FIRST Headquarters. Her main areas of focus include managing data systems at FIRST related to contributions and fundraising, data tracking and reconciliation, and developing reports and analytics to help further the impact of FIRST.

In addition to mentoring Team 238, KPJ serves on the committee for RiverRage, the longest running FIRST Robotics Competition off-season event that is co-run by three teams from Manchester, Teams 131, 238, and 501. She mentors her nephews’ FIRST LEGO League Explore team 14923, The Little Dippers. You can also find KPJ volunteering at FIRST events when she has extra free time!

Kimberley says, "I am a FIRST mentor because it gives me a chance to give back to the program I enjoyed as a student. I get to share my skills and experience to help kids create their own path in life. I'm inspired by the students I work with not only when they gain technical or business skills, but especially when they step out of their comfort zone and become stronger leaders and team players."

Thank you, KPJ, for being a FIRST mentor and volunteer. You #CHAMPIONTHEGAME!

Fun Fact: Kimberley has three rescue Pit Bulls named Cisco, Kara, and Lilac.