The AmeriCorp VISTA is a prestigious federal program designed to alleviate poverty in the US and has a long standing partnership with FIRST to build capacity in communities to expand FIRST programming. NYC FIRST is pleased to welcome Srikar Gudimella as our VISTA corp member for the upcoming year - and we'd love for you to get to know him:
Q: Why did you join NYC FIRST as a VISTA?
I joined FIRST as a VISTA because I wanted to spend my gap year working to support STEM education. This has been especially of important to me as the pandemic has made it harder for schools, parents, and students to provide quality STEM education. As an FLL alum, I’m excited to help NYC students experience and enjoy FIRST’s fun and engaging programs.
Q: Why is STEM education important to you?
The lessons learned from STEM education go far beyond the classroom or workspace. Quality STEM education teaches students to be problem solvers, creative designers, effective group workers, and more. The skills, abilities, and mindset gained from a STEM education are useful in almost all areas of life.
Q: What has participating in a FIRST program taught you?
I was an active member in FIRST LEGO League. Participating in my FLL team taught me a lot about working as a team to solve problems. It pushed me and my teammates to work on our communication and organization skills so that we could work more efficiently together.
Q: What's the best advice you've received from your FIRST team?
The best advice I received from my FIRST team was to treat failure as a chance to find insight on how to improve.
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