In celebration of the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation’s 70th Anniversary, Spectre at Suncoast Polytechnical High School is one of seven organizations selected to receive a $5,000 grant in honor of a Selby Scholar. This special award is made possible by Sophia Woodbury who wrote the essay below about the impact of Spectre in her life.
In 10th grade, I joined Spectre, SPHS’s FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) team. I didn’t know what to expect; I just found robotics cool. I now realize that joining Spectre changed the course of my life.
When I joined, Spectre was brand-new, so there were many unfamiliar tasks: fundraising; budgeting; pitches to local sponsors; graphic design; even designing the team’s structure. In my first weeks, I learned countless skills I wouldn’t have tried elsewhere. During this period, our mentors/coaches’ support helped me grow in many unexpected ways. For example, they encouraged me to take a leadership role as the business sub-team captain, something I wouldn’t have considered otherwise due to being anxious and introverted.
The rest of that year, leading the business sub-team forced me to overcome the anxiety preventing me from being comfortable speaking to new people or large groups or advocating for myself. I learned leadership from my teammates and mentors: delegating tasks, facilitating communication, and resolving conflicts became natural. My confidence grew, and soon I was comfortable pitching sponsorships to businesses and presenting to crowds that previously would have left me sweating/stuttering. This confidence made me comfortable asking for help and advocating for myself when things aren’t right. By senior year, I was president of the entire team, managing 6 sub-teams and 85+ students. The skills and confidence I gained from that experience have translated into nearly every aspect of my life.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without Spectre, but this organization also helped me decide where that would be. Before junior year, I had no idea what major or career to pursue. The support of amazing mentors, inspiration from teammates, and hands-on experience I gained in engineering because of the team helped me decide on a major (electrical engineering and computer science, or EECS) and I could not be more sure of my decision. Many discussions with my mentors helped clarify what field would best align with my interests and strengths. And, because I’ve already tried EECS, I know I will enjoy classes in college and work in my career. The Spectre community also helped me see myself as an engineer. They believed in me from the beginning, even when others thought my plans for college were too aspirational. Their support was essential to my college application process (they proofread essays, helped with interviews, and helped me manage stress) and they were the most enthusiastic after I was accepted into my dream college. The skills I practiced through FIRST also definitely helped me become a Selby Scholar! I wouldn’t trade their support for anything.
My favorite aspect of Spectre isn’t related to robotics at all. My most cherished memories come from outreach events: Spectre hosts yearly STEM summer camps and also attended local fairs, showcases, and even an air show, demonstrating our robot and answering questions. To me, the most important work that Spectre does is inspiring and educating young people about the opportunities available in the STEM field. It was especially inspiring for me to speak with young girls about their aspirations to be a scientist or engineer because I remembered my younger self asking their same questions. I’m very grateful for the opportunities to share my love for STEM and hopefully show other young women that they can be engineers.
Spectre hasn’t stopped opening doors for me even now that I am in college. My participation on the team connected me with an amazing network of FIRST alumni, including the large community at MIT. The skills I developed on the team have made me more successful in my classes and have been easy to apply to projects and in clubs. My former teammates have also remained some of my closest friends, despite now living thousands of miles apart.
Spectre Robotics was central to my high school experience. Without the relationships, skills, and memories from being on the team, I know I would not be where I am today. I can’t think of a better organization for the Selby Foundation to support, between the opportunities it has given me and will give to other high school students and the fact that any support will be magnified by their outreach efforts.