Flowers Award Recipient
Bill Bennett would certainly meet this criterion, as do all of our adult mentors that participate on our team, but what
makes him great? Bill Bennett is someone worth imitating. He has all of the great qualities that not only make him an
awesome mentor, but also an outstanding person.
Bill has given many hours of his time to help foster our team. He is the first person to arrive and the last person to
leave. If something needs to be done, he will always take the initiative to see that the task is completed rallying the
team to action. He takes the time to motivate us to do it when it would be much easier for him to just do it himself
teaching us about discipline and stick-to-itness.
Bill is a patient mentor. This quality is definitely a plus for a mentor. Bill has never raised his voice, sent a negative
message or made us feel uncomfortable about our abilities or ourselves. He has been a steady influence and a
source of positive reinforcement. We all feel capable and essential due to Bill’s diligent management of our fragile
egos.
Recently, Bill challenged us to figure out the maximum PSI for our robotic arm. We sat there looking at him. Bill took
it in stride and began to write the mathematical equation on the board walking us through the formula. Most of us
were completely lost, but Bill managed to break it down into terms we understood. In the end, he challenged us to
step up and solve the problem.
One of the most important mentoring quality Bill posses is the ability to let others, mostly students assume control.
He constantly challenges us to step up and take responsibility for the different phases of the FIRST experience from
robot design to sponsor presentations. We have all taken part in brainstorming sessions on each phase of our robot
design and construction. He has been committed to student leadership and participation allowing us to “own” our
robot. He believes that the experience or the journey should be the most important part of the FIRST experience. As a
result, we have all earned the pride we feel about our robot and our accomplishments in the FIRST arena.
Bill’s enthusiasm about engineering and the process of being an engineer is a constant source of stimulus for us all.
Bill will always ask the students to solve engineering problems or challenges first. He listens to our ideas and validates
each of them. He challenges us to see not only the good points but also the drawbacks forcing us to adapt and adjust
our ideas. This also helps us learn valuable communication skills forcing us to analyze our ideas and then present
them in an understandable form. This skill is not only valuable for engineering, it is also a useful tool we will be able
to take with us and apply in other areas of our lives.
Bill is an integral part of Team CRUSH! As an engineer himself, he has been able to inspire us to reach for levels of
excellence we thought were beyond us. He has shown us that math, science and technology are worthwhile endeavors
and worth aspiring to. He has been instrumental in advising us about our unlimited potential and he has opened
doors we would have never opened ourselves. Bill Bennett is absolutely a perfect choice for the Woodie Flowers Award.
Essay Update 2006
Another year has passed and it is time to revisit Bill’s story. Over the past year, Bill Bennett has become
an even a more integral part of Team 1011. More than ever, Bill embodiment of the Woodie Flowers
Award and the spirit of FIRST.
This was the first year that Team 1011 became a year-round team at Sonoran Science Academy (SSA).
Along with the team’s increased participation, the dedication and attention that Bill has always given
CRUSH has increased as well. Currently, Bill works closely with SSA guiding and leading the robotics
program working at strengthening the partnership between SSA, Team 1011 and FIRST.
Currently Bill is developing and overseeing the curriculum for students receiving credit for their
participation in Team 1011. He also oversees the SSA summer camp for robotics. He is always
volunteering his time to give workshops for FIRST and the Arizona Planning Committee. Bill personally
guides and oversees the professional mentors that join Team 1011.
Bill continues to work hard for FIRST and Sonoran Science Academy with the same level of commitment
documented in our 2005 submission, but this year, Bill took it up a notch. In 2007 Bill plans to retire from
IBM and enter Transition to Teaching Program provided by IBM. Through this program, Bill plans to
receive his teaching credentials and teach robotics to high school students continuing the FIRST
tradition at Sonoran Science Academy solidifying his commitment to the students inspiring them to
continue to reach our full potential and personal excellence.
On a personal note, CRUSH is graduating its first seniors this year. I am one of those seniors. Before I
joined CRUSH, I was looking forward to a career in teaching or social sciences. Although I excelled in
math and science, I had never been compelled to even explore those areas. Through my experience
with CRUSH and FIRST, I have been motivated to fully explore the high-tech world. Because of his
motivation and at times, gentle prodding, I have decided to become an engineer.
I am now a Raytheon Scholar. Plus, I have received over $60,000 in scholarship offers that I attribute to
FIRST and my experience with Team 1011. I truly believe this would not be the case if not for my
personal mentor Bill Bennett who has encouraged and supported me. After my summer internship with
Raytheon concludes, I plan to return to SSA as a mentor for Team 1011. I can only hope to follow in his
tradition and sincerely work at being a mentor Bill will be proud of!
