For the past 15 years, Xerox employees have served as volunteers to mentor high-school students, teaching them teamwork, problem-solving techniques, creative thinking and the appreciation of science and technology as part of a national robotics competition program called FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). FIRST was founded by Dean Kamen, a nationally known inventor, to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. The FIRST Robotics Competition combines the excitement of sport with science and technology to create a unique sport for the mind.

"This event is a great opportunity for professional engineers to work closely with high-school students around the community. It provides positive, life-changing events for both the students as well as their mentors," said Rick Bryant, technical program manager, Xerox.

Without volunteers contributing their time, energy and talents to the causes they hold dear, FIRST could not be the gratifying and successful program it is today. Volunteering brings benefits to both society and the individual volunteers. It creates pride and a sense of accomplishment for all involved. And Xerox FIRST volunteers have done just that.

"When we succeed in making robots as generous and compassionate as our mentors and teachers, we'll really have it made," said Jeff Debes, a Xerox employee and a team leader for XQ Robotix.

Xerox Corporation has four teams around the country that it supports and sponsors:

• Team No. 191, X-Cats, Joseph C. Wilson Magnet High School
  
• Team No. 1126, SparX, Webster High School
  
• Team No. 1425, Wilsonville Robotics
  
• Team No. 1450, XQ Robotix, Benjamin Franklin Education Campus

About 15-18 Xerox technical and business professionals work with each team, volunteering their time and talent in making a positive difference in these students' lives. There are also 2-4 teachers for each team. And there are countless parents and former Xerox employees who also assist in various ways. This year provided a unique opportunity for FIRST teams and participants in Rochester, N.Y., as the Finger Lakes Regional FIRST Competition was held in Rochester for the first time. The March 2005 event was sponsored by Xerox, Bausch & Lomb, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and many others.

Xerox FIRST volunteers include scientists, senior engineering technicians, software engineers, mechanical engineers, fabricators, product analysts, model makers, designers, systems engineers, product developers, business managers and key executives.

They spend countless hours of volunteer time, working directly with high-school students to help them build a robot that can compete. But the real winning is in the learning process, the skills, the relationship building and the fun.

Just ask DaTwan Dixon, electrical engineer at Xerox and a member of the X-Cats, who recalls one late afternoon when the team's robot was due to be shipped to a competition.

"I remember asking myself, 'Why am I here?' " he says. "The next thing I knew it was 10 p.m. I was hungry, tired, and asking myself again, 'Why am I here?' By 2 a.m. things were finally working well and the robot was ready to ship. My question changed to, 'Was it worth it?' My questions were answered when I saw the look on the students' faces as we won our first match and when I saw the high-school seniors walk across the stage on graduation day. Yes, it was all worth it!"