TD Cafe #019 - From Drupal to FIRST Robotics

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

• https://github.com/minerbotics
• https://www.facebook.com/MinerBotics4827/

Steve's team - Compass Robotics