Warren Hildebrandt

Rochester Adams HS, CAD - 13 years with FIRST

What we've heard about Mr. Hildebrandt:
 
"Mr. Hildebrandt started the FIRST team at Rochester High School 13 years ago. He switched buildings in 2003 and came to Rochester Adams High School. He has been mentoring the Adambot team since. His involvement with FIRST lies with his teams. He literally spends every day after school on robotics. The week school begins our fall season kicks-off. He is there for the design and build, then the competitions. Along the way the team does team building activities, fundraising and outreach. Mr. Hildebrandt is there for it all. When the FIRST Kick-off is presented in January, Mr. Hildebrandt begins another six weeks of design and build sessions every day after school. This year due to cut backs, the team lost their major sponsor and place to build. The robot was built in Mr. Hildebrandt's classroom. Not only did the build take every day after school, during FIRST, eight hour days on Saturdays is the rule.

When the FIRST competitions end in April, Mr. Hildebrandt's involvement doesn't stop. In the spring he goes along with the team to demonstrate the robot at elementary and middle schools, participates in fundraising and team building activities. In the summer, he is there with the kids at the 24 hour Relay for Life event for cancer research. He sets up "ch Days"in the summer to work on things the six weeks of build season wouldn't allow them time to explore. FIRST stands for, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Mr. Hildebrandt inspires us all!

Mr. Warren Hildebrandt, or H as he is called by the students, is the teacher that drives the Rochester Adams Robotics Team. He has been involved in FIRST Robotics for over 13 years, first with the Rochester High Team 201 and now with the Adams High Team 245. He works hard at inspiring our team members to do our best at whatever we do. He helped us successfully convince the school system to allow the awarding of a varsity letter for active participation on the Robotics Team. He helped inspire us to get involved in community events, including spending the entire 24 hours at the Relay for Life fundraiser two years in a row. He continues to spend countless hours after school and on weekends teaching us about designing and engineering a robot. He worked with our school principal to get her to a fall robotics competition where she was allowed to drive the robot during a special adult only drive team event.

He continues to let us make mistakes so we can learn by doing, not just by listening. He does all this without seeking recognition or fame. He also inspires us without fanfare or flamboyant behavior. He quietly works every day at showing us how to put things together, then take them apart and put them together again in an improved state. He also allows other adults to have an active part in the team. He lets them use their skills and knowledge to cover various parts of robotics so more team members can have a hands-on experience. He delegates the tasks so four or five teams can be working at the same time. Even though he is the team coach he lets others share their opinions and he listens to their suggestions. Students watch how the adults behave and students have learned that collaboration is better than competition when we are all trying to accomplish the same objectives.

For some mentors robotics is a winter event, starting in January and ending in April. For Mr. Hildebrandt, robotics goes all year round. He works with us to design and build a robot for the Oakland County Competitive Robotics Association competitions in the fall. After a one month break he starts right up with FIRST. After the FIRST season he works with us on team building, fund raising and community service. During the summer he sets up "Tech Days" to work on robot designs that we did not have time to do during the six week build session. In summary, he continuously inspires us to greatness and inspires our adult mentors to continue to give their all to help our team learn about areas of science and technology. Our team is lucky to have him as a mentor and coach. We appreciate him very much."