Meet Chen-Chen with Ambassador Team 14251

Tell us about yourself and how are you involved with FIRST?

My name is Chen-Chen and I’ve been doing robotics since I was in elementary school (I believe 10 years now) . This is my last year in FIRST as a student because I’m a senior! I’ve been the head of programming for the FTC team 14251 for the past 3 years and I’m also involved with the FRC team 9096. I remember my first trifold for judging was about the amount of trash in the oceans and how they’re harming dolphins and we made up a dance to perform during judging.

How has FIRST helped you accomplish your goals?

FIRST gave me the opportunity to program at a young age and introduced me to a bunch of like-minded people passionate in STEM. Although programming is my passion, I also got the opportunity to dabble with circuitry, mechanics, CAD, and social media management. It’s been so fun to be able to do so many different things, things I didn’t expect to learn when I was 8 and thought “I like robots, let’s join Lego League.” Because of my experience in all the different aspects of robotics, I often have the knowledge to help with technical problems outside of robotics.

Do you recall any special experiences or challenges?

I remember last year we worked super hard but we just kept facing challenge after challenge during states. Our controllers stopped working, one of our motors burnt out. Not only that, but a bunch of us weren’t fully registered because of technical difficulties that nulled our registrations. This completely shattered our enthusiasm and we were feeling really disappointed and disheartened, convinced that we had totally blown it. So we went home and just as I went into the door, my friend called me. It turned out we got into regionals, extending our season for another two months. It was a rough day but I learned that even when things go wrong, as long as you keep going and have good teammates to rely on, you can still accomplish great things even when everything seems to be stacked against you.

Why do you think FIRST is important for females?

I think FIRST is important for females because it gives them the opportunity to do things that people may say aren’t for them. I was convinced that even though I’ve always been interested in engineering that it wasn’t something that I could do beyond a hobby. However, through FIRST and its effort to encourage females (and non-binary folks) to pursue engineering, I’m going to go to college to study computer engineering.

What are your goals for the future?

I want to continue to be able to work in robotics and program for as long as I can type. I want to encourage females and non-binary people to pursue mechanical engineering, circuitry, and programming even when others are discouraging them not to.

What advice would you give to the younger generation of girls interested in STEAM fields?

My advice I would give is that you’re never too young to pursue what you’re interested in. There are so many people who want you to succeed and are cheering you on, you just have to find them. Giving yourself the opportunity to try and fail is so so important, no one needs you to be perfect they just want you to give yourself the option to try.

Do you have a woman you look up to/is your role model? If so, who is it and why?

My role model is my mom. She’s a chemist and worked in labs and as a professor, often being the only female in her department. She talks about how she got passed for promotions and how the men around her were often discouraging towards her research. That never deterred her though and she made great strides in the field. I hope that I can work towards my goals and passions even when I feel like I’m the only person cheering me on like she did.

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