NYC FIRST RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT: NEMO (http://www.firstnemo.org)

9 Feb

NYC FIRST RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT: NEMO (http://www.firstnemo.org)

While I’m consistently amazed at the technical skills of students, my conversations with teachers reveal that non-engineering elements of FIRST can present bigger challenges to teams. “Teams are almost like small businesses and have to do everything,” says Jenny Beatty, Co-founder of Non-engineering Mentor Organization (NEMO).

Although we’ve been hearing about snowstorm NEMO in the news, some of you may not be aware of this useful resource. NEMO offers a private forum and public resource site to share lessons learned and discuss all aspects of the FIRST competition. While the member-based private forum is targeted for teachers, mentors and parents, everyone can leverage the publicly available Resources page.

Jenny adds, “One of the perceptions is that if you’re technical that you can’t join NEMO. This is not the case. Teachers, teams and captains have to do both.”  Kathie Kentfield, Co-founder and Director of NEMO, notes, “There’s a spot for every student on a FIRST team” and it can also be said there’s a spot for every adult in NEMO.

In addition to an exchange and support network, discussions can develop into new materials on the Resources page. Kathie pointed out that a recent article for Varsity Lettering is based off “discussions [that] dated back to 10 years ago”. She says, “[NEMO] is about compiling these details mainly bringing in the best practices and lessons learned from other places”.

Articles on these pages cover all aspects of the FIRST cycle, from team building guidance to scholarships. Resources should be a bookmark for all teams. In light of the competition cycle, checking out articles in the Awards and Competitions sections is especially useful.

– Vinessa DiCarlo, FIRST Volunteer