Our Philosophy
Team 254's mentoring program is designed around promoting the ideals of FIRST.
Our goal is to bring the FIRST community into the lives of students both far and near.
The Cheesy Poof mentoring program is an ongoing process in which we continue following
the progress of our mentor teams. We feel that our own success is reflected by the
achievements of the teams we have mentored.
Mentored Teams in Hawaii:
Waialua (359) & McKinley (368):
During the first year of Team 254’s existence, students flew out to Hawaii
to demonstrate FIRST robotics. Soon following, Waialua and McKinley started
a prosperous robotics program. Since then, a total of six teams have started
in Hawaii. We are especially proud to mention that both teams were finalists
at the 2003 Silicon Valley Regional while Waialua won the Regional Chairman’s
Award and McKinley won the Delphi "Driving Tomorrow's Technology"
Award.
Mentored Teams in Alaska:
East Anchorage High (374): Along with starting two Hawaiian
teams the first year, the Cheesy Poofs also flew out to Alaska for a robotics
demonstration. Like the schools in Hawaii, East Anchorage decided to embark
on the FIRST robotics program. Since then, a total of six teams have emerged
from Alaska. We are also proud to mention that the “Icebreakers,”
team 374, won the Engineering Inspiration award at the 2003 Silicon Valley Regional.
Mentored Teams in California
Milpitas High (1120) & Mission San Jose (1045): 
In
2003, the Cheesy Poofs began two local FIRST teams. Because of the close proximity
of these teams, we were able to provide a much more in depth mentoring program.
Throughout the year, both schools worked on their robots in our facility at
NASA Ames. Their students worked alongside Cheesy Poof veterans as well as our
mentors in designing and building their robots. Over the summer, we gave them
our old robot to test a new drive train system. Using this newfound knowledge,
they competed in the preseason California Games and did very well. We also gave
Team 1045 our old shipping crate. Both teams performed remarkably well at their
first official event, the Silicon Valley Regional. Milpitas was even able to
compete in the championship event in Houston
AU-BOT (1422): In 2004 and continuing on into 2005, Cheesy Poof members excited students and teachers in the Clovis city area to begin a robotics program. AU-BOT was formed and has already got off to a good start. In the 2004 season, the team took home the Rookie Inspiration Award, and has since begun a very successful FIRST career.
