"Organized chaos" is one way Ryan Cahoon (CS'12) describes his Tuesday nights during the academic year. Cahoon, a computer science major, volunteers with the McKeesport Area High School and Technology Center robotics team, which competes in FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).

Patricia DePra, the regional director for FIRST®, said that college students are extremely valuable to the program. Supported by a strong network of sponsors and volunteers, FIRST® provides four programs: the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) and the FIRST® Tech Challenge for Grades 9-12 (ages 14-18); the FIRST® LEGO League (FLL) for Grades 4-8 (ages 9-14); and the Junior FIRST® LEGO® League for Grades K-3 (ages 6-9).

"College students are a very valuable resource for high school students in the FIRST® program," DePra said, "not only with the robotics experience, but with the college experience. High school students who might not have considered college have the opportunity to interact one-on-one with exceptional students like Ryan. This can, and does, change students' career paths."

The program focuses on helping participants gain self-confidence, develop skills and discover potential career paths. For Cahoon, who has volunteered with the McKeesport club for the past two years, it's a way to give back. The Seattle native made two trips to the international championship event as a high school student.

"That was really special. Having 20,000 people that are all in the one area, enthusiastic about the same thing you are, up in the stands cheering was amazing," Cahoon said. "You just have all this support around you, and you know that there's actually a part of this program that's beyond my little bubble. It's something that I hope the kids would be able to experience at McKeesport."

Mike Dischner coaches the McKeesport team and said Cahoon has taken the team to new heights and opened the eyes of the students to what they can achieve.

"For someone like Ryan to spend the time that he does with an urban school that's not fancy and doesn't have a lot of money, I can't express how lucky we are to have him," Dischner said. "He chooses to keep coming back. What he gives to these students is invaluable."

McKeesport qualified for the championships in its rookie season in 2005. Since then, they've been focused on a return trip. Cahoon said this year was a great experience for them as they stretched their talents with a more ambitious design. The robots can be as large as 5 feet in height and weigh as much as 120 pounds.

Dischner agreed.

"Over the summer we're going to continue to grow," Dischner said. "If we have enough money, we're going to build some parts ahead of time and build some manipulators and drive systems and try things out. We're going to try and get some preparation for the season. We've never been able to do that before."

Cathy Light, executive assistant to CMU President Jared L. Cohon, has two sons who are members of the McKeesport team. She said the skills the high school students learn go beyond engineering and programming.

"It's not just about building the robots, but about teamwork and leadership," Light said. "It really is running a small business and teaching leadership skills."

Light said team members are responsible for finding corporate sponsorships as well as having fundraisers. They also learn how to organize group trips to regional competitions and write thank you letters. As a parent, she said she was impressed with Cahoon's dedication to the program.

"I've been here for three years now, and I've always heard about what great students Carnegie Mellon has, not just academically but in the community. He continues to blow me away with the thought he puts into all aspects."

While McKeesport's team didn't qualify for nationals, they did receive the "Gracious Professionalism" Award at the Pittsburgh regional competition. Cahoon said a strong group of juniors would be returning to lead the team next year.

"The idea of gracious professionalism is embedded in the culture at FIRST® in that you go out and compete like crazy but you're always maintaining a professional attitude the entire time," Cahoon said. "I think the kids were awarded for the perseverance in the face of adversity. So that was really cool to see them recognized for their attitude, not necessarily for their competition. In this kind of thing it is as much important."

The experience helped move the team forward, Dischner said.

"We went up about two levels with the design this year," the coach said. "We were working metal working designs. We had a design that was extremely radical, that turned out very well. Unfortunately, we ran into snow and lost two weeks."

Cahoon came to CMU to be a part of the robotics program.

"I love the atmosphere," he said. "It felt more open and kind of friendly, it felt like it had a very welcoming atmosphere, which is something I was attracted to especially for my undergraduate work."

After college, he plans to serve with Teach for America before enrolling in graduate school.

"I've gotten hooked on trying to help high school students," he said. "We'll have to see how things kind of play out from there. Hopefully I'll get a job that's fun and matches what I'm interested in."

Along with working at McKeesport, Cahoon assists FIRST's regional efforts as a webmaster and helps maintain the website SteelCityRobotics.org, which is a resource for teams in the area.

DePra said Cahoon's assistance is just one way that the Carnegie Mellon community aids the program.

"Pittsburgh has a wealth of expertise in robotics that CMU has been integral in building," DePra said. "We are grateful to the CMU Robotics Academy, a FIRST® partner who runs the FLL program here in Pittsburgh, and to the many mentors and volunteers from CMU who make the high school FRC program possible. We're in a terrific place here in Pittsburgh for robotics."

John Bares, director of the National Robotics Engineering Center and a Robotics Institute faculty member, was a keynote speaker in the opening ceremony for the Pittsburgh Regional FRC this year.

McKeesport and other FIRST® teams are looking for additional professional and college mentors not only in robotics but also in business, communications and more. For more information about the McKeesport team, contact Dischner at 412-664-3650, 412-337-9707 or Mdischner@mckasd.net. For information about the regional program, contact DePra at pdepra@usfirst.org.