FTC student turns passionate volunteer
Travis Menghini was already a two-year veteran FIRST Robotics Competition student when he joined the newly-formed FTC Team at his Missouri high school during his junior year in 2011. When his team did not advance to the state championship, Travis signed on to help run the Field Control System.
Travis, who was planning to attend the championship to watch his friend's team compete, figured "I was going to be there anyway, why not volunteer and give back to the program?
After that first experience, he was hooked. In addition to his duties on FTC Team 5095, the Leptons, Travis continued to explore different volunteer roles, but eventually came under the mentorship of Tom McGovern, the lead Field Technical Adviser (FTA) for Missouri, as an FTA Assistant.
Travis graduated from Rockwood Summit High School in 2013 and decided to attend college at Colorado State University. This didn't deter him from volunteering, however. In Colorado, Travis contacted the Affiliate Partners there and signed up to help with FTC, as an FTA, and FIRST LEGO League, as a head referee.
Tom McGovern, who is also the Affiliate Partner for Missouri, said that when Travis came home on winter break, he helped the state run three qualifiers.
"Many people would call three FTC events enough during a season, but Travis went back to Colorado and was the FTA, or helped the FTA, for three more events, including the State Championship," Tom added.
Matthew Collier, the AP for Colorado, said "He is awesome! I can focus on other parts of the tournament knowing that the fields are in good hands."
Travis says he gets more stressed now than when he was a student because he knows that the decisions he makes directly affect the outcome of the rest of the day for the teams. Still, he get's excited knowing he is helping teams get their robots working and on the field.
"I get to see first-hand how my time benefits other students," he said.
Travis, who is majoring in math education and computer science and hopes to teach high school after graduation, loves helping teams solve problems to get their robots back on the field. He pays special attention to teams that are running inconsistently and tries to help them get their robot operational for the tournament and, sometimes, the rest of the season.
"I would be thoroughly disappointed if I left a competition knowing that a team's robot did not work at all and I never helped them. As a past team member, I know how it feels when the robot doesn't work or fails every time," he said.
The young volunteer says the reason he gives back is because he already recognizes the importance and value of what he learned during his time in FIRST, and already seeing them in action in his college work.
"I highly value the skills I gained in FTC and give back to the program so other students can gain these for themselves," he said.
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| Travis Menghini, learning the ropes of being an FTA from Tom McGovern |
After that first experience, he was hooked. In addition to his duties on FTC Team 5095, the Leptons, Travis continued to explore different volunteer roles, but eventually came under the mentorship of Tom McGovern, the lead Field Technical Adviser (FTA) for Missouri, as an FTA Assistant.
Travis graduated from Rockwood Summit High School in 2013 and decided to attend college at Colorado State University. This didn't deter him from volunteering, however. In Colorado, Travis contacted the Affiliate Partners there and signed up to help with FTC, as an FTA, and FIRST LEGO League, as a head referee.
Tom McGovern, who is also the Affiliate Partner for Missouri, said that when Travis came home on winter break, he helped the state run three qualifiers.
"Many people would call three FTC events enough during a season, but Travis went back to Colorado and was the FTA, or helped the FTA, for three more events, including the State Championship," Tom added.
Matthew Collier, the AP for Colorado, said "He is awesome! I can focus on other parts of the tournament knowing that the fields are in good hands."
Travis says he gets more stressed now than when he was a student because he knows that the decisions he makes directly affect the outcome of the rest of the day for the teams. Still, he get's excited knowing he is helping teams get their robots working and on the field.
"I get to see first-hand how my time benefits other students," he said.
Travis, who is majoring in math education and computer science and hopes to teach high school after graduation, loves helping teams solve problems to get their robots back on the field. He pays special attention to teams that are running inconsistently and tries to help them get their robot operational for the tournament and, sometimes, the rest of the season.
"I would be thoroughly disappointed if I left a competition knowing that a team's robot did not work at all and I never helped them. As a past team member, I know how it feels when the robot doesn't work or fails every time," he said.
The young volunteer says the reason he gives back is because he already recognizes the importance and value of what he learned during his time in FIRST, and already seeing them in action in his college work.
"I highly value the skills I gained in FTC and give back to the program so other students can gain these for themselves," he said.
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