Michael Kinnunen and Steve Wirt share how they each got started with Drupal through higher-ed jobs and stayed for the communit. They compare those community values to FIRST Robotics, explaining FIRST's K–12 programs (FRC, FTC, and FIRST LEGO League), kickoff-style challenges, and the "coopertition" culture where teams help competitors with parts and repairs. Both mentor highschool robotics teams in the US.
For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/cafe019
Topics * Cafe Catch Up * Drupal Origin Stories * Why Drupal Community * What Is FIRST * Mentoring Journeys * Team Names Numbers * Kickoff Build Sprint * Coopertition In Action * Awards And Impact * Drupal for Team Ops * Trying Recipes and Canvas * Time Investment and Module Fixes * Getting Students into Drupal * Mentor Load and Teaching Java * Student Run Team Culture * Robot Ecosystem and Everybot * Team Roles and Onboarding * Adversity and Grit Lessons * FIRST Programs and How to Join * Wrap Up and Good Luck
Steve Wirt Drupal Developer for CivicActions by day, FIRST Robotics mentor by night Steve has been a Drupal Developer for 19 years and helps government agencies build tools that help improve their mission. He is founding mentor of FRC team Compass Robotics.
Michael Kinnunen Backend Engineer for CivicActions Michael has been working with Drupal for about a decade, starting with Drupal 7 in 2016 as a Web Developer at Northern Michigan University. He has also spent the past six years as a mentor for the Negaunee Minerbotics FRC team, where he has helped students build technical skills in programming and engineering.
Guests Steve Wirt - swirt
Michael Kinnunen - mkinnune
Resources FIRST Robotics Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition Michael's team
Steve's team - Compass Robotics