At the annual NW Electronics Design and Manufacturing Expo (NEDME) on Oct. 18, hosted at Tektronix in Beaverton, Oregon, and sponsored by the Electronics Manufacturing Association and the Electronics Representatives Association, I met and interviewed students from one of the area’s FIRST Robotics teams.
The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics program initially caught my attention during an IPC APEX EXPO, when FIRST founder Dean Kamen gave the keynote address. Kamen founded FIRST to develop students’ interest in STEM, and since then, I have been interviewing and sharing stories of FIRST team members around the country.
At NEDME, I stopped by the exhibit for Team 2898, The Flying Hedgehogs, and learned about their mission to promote and gain support for their robotics team.
In this interview, team captain Rae Wetzel and her team member Logan King provide useful insight for anybody looking to hire the next generation. Please take a few minutes to watch this video and hear their particularly insightful advice about what skills are needed in the future workforce.
This article originally appeared in the November 2023 issue of SMT007 Magazine. This issue features several articles about attracting new, young talent to the workforce.