Washington Business Winter 2016 | Page 45

washington business “Kids get involved to hang out with their friends and play with LEGOS. They may think that they’re bad at math or they don’t like science. A few weeks later they realize they’ve learned to code.” — Erin McCallum, president, Washington FIRST Robotics Of FIRST participants, I made the right choice, and I love report more interest in what I do.” Industry mentors and as a result of the program; volunteers — report more interest in often program alumni or local STEM professionals — provide another connection to the workforce for students. FIRST Washington relies on nearly 500,000 volunteer hours each year to mentor and coach teams and staff competitions. Schmitz is now the lead mentor for Bellevue High School’s FIRST Robotics team. “I can say with complete confidence that my experience with FIRST Washington FIRST Robotics was just as valuable to me as my experience www.firstwa.org in a college engineering program,” he says. “This is a way to give back.” 59% 78% STEM careers engineering. Share your business with top decision makers in Washington state. Washington Business magazine is distributed to more than 8,000 subscribers ranging from CEOs and managers to owners of small, medium and large businesses statewide. Our readers—including top executives, industry leaders and state and national lawmakers—are your customers. Target your message and get results with Washington Business magazine. To inquire about our rates: Call: 360.736.8065 E-mail: [email protected] The Endeavour Jaguars from Issaquah show off their Junior FIRST LEGO League creations on the sidelines of a competition at the ShoWare Center. Download a rate card: www.awb.org/WaBusinessAds winter 2016 45