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FIRST Leadership Award
This document contains an overview of the FIRST Leadership Award process for league leaders.
Timeline:
Volunteer express signup:
Summary from FIRST:
The FIRST Leadership Award recognizes the dedication and individual contributions of outstanding secondary school students participating on FIRST® Tech Challenge or FIRST® Robotics Competition teams.
In short:
- Coaches nominate up to two students each year
- Students must be in 10th or 11th grade
- Students participate in interviews
- Reviewers select Finalists from around the state
- Winners are selected from around the world
- FIRST Leadership Award Semi-Finalist
- Any student nominated by their coach is considered a FIRST Leadership Award Semi-Finalist
- FIRST Leadership Award Finalist
- Students selected by Florida's FIRST Leadership Award Reviewers are considered FIRST Leadership Award Finalists
- FIRST Leadership Award Winners
- The top 10 students selected from around the world are considered FIRST Leadership Award Winners
- FIRST Leadership Award Interviewers
- Volunteers from each league that interview nominees / semi-finalists and provide written notes to enhance the nominations
- FIRST Leadership Award Reviewers
- Volunteers that review nominations and select FIRST Leadership Award Finalists
- JA
- Judge Advisor
- PDP
Program Delivery Partner
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The Short Version
- Coaches nominate students
- Leagues recruit FIRST Leadership Award Interviewers
- Interviewers interview nominees and submit notes
- Leagues recognize nominees at the League Tournament
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Nominations
Coaches can nominate up to two students, in 10th or 11th grade, for the FIRST Leadership Award each year. Nominations have a global deadline set by FIRST. Please encourage coaches to nominate their students. Share the Nomination Guide for more information.
We aren't able to see any information about the nominations until after the deadline (usually at noon on the day after the deadline). This includes the count of nominations, or how they are divided among the leagues.
Nomenclature
Every nominated student is referred to as a FIRST Leadership Award Semi-Finalist.
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Recruiting Interviewers
Individual leagues recruit FIRST Leadership Award Interviewers. These volunteers will, in pairs, conduct interviews with the nominated students and provide written notes about the student in the Judging Portal. They do need to be unbiased individuals that are willing to advocate for each of the students, but they do not need to make any decisions about who "wins".
Someone interested in volunteering as a FIRST Leadership Award Interviewer should do the following:
- Review the FIRST Leadership Award Interviewer Manual
- Sign up as a FIRST Leadership Award Interviewer at the Florida FIRST Leadership Award Interviews event in the FIRST Dashboard
- An express signup link is available in the overview panel above
- They should ignore the dates listed for the event (more on this later)
- Make it known (by emailing me, or having you email me) which league they will interview
Each league needs at least two interviewers. Leagues can share interviewers if someone has sufficient time. Leagues can also recruit additional interviewers to help share the workload.
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Conducting Interviews
After the nomination deadline, the PDP will share information about the nominees. Any time after that, interviewers can schedule interviews. Here are the constraints:
- Interviews must be conducted during the designated timeframe listed in the overview above.
- Interview notes are due by the end of the day on the date listed. It’s a good practice to submit them as soon as possible after each individual interview, for the sake of memory.
- Interviews, which are usually performed via video conference, require two interviewers to be present at all times. Nominees may also have a silent observer present.
- If a league has more than two interviewers, they may self-organize coverage of interviews however they see fit.
The timeframe is a trade-off between giving FIRST Leadership Award Interviewers as much time as possible, and giving the FIRST Leadership Award Reviewers sufficient time to review the interview notes and select finalists before their deadline.
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Recognizing Semi-Finalists
Every nominated student is considered a Semi-Finalist for the FIRST Leadership Award. Leagues should recognize the Semi-Finalists at their League Tournament event. Some portion of a script (opening or awards) will likely include this.
The PDP may receive physical pins for recognition; if this happens, league leaders will be contacted regarding shipping.