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When sophomore year rolled around, I couldn't wait for the robotics season to begin. I was so excited to have the opportunity to teach the new girls how to wire. Fortunately, that was not my fate, but it seemed unfortunate at the time. The captains and head teacher put my on a different CDT. At first, I was extremely pissed about being on the chassis and drive train CDT. Not to mention it made no sense to me. Now, the only had two girls on the hardware CDT who knew what they were doing. I should probably mention that our team grew in size considerably, so there were around three or four new girls on hardware. I also didn't like the fact that I wasn't going to be teaching anyone anything. Plus, I asked the teacher for their reasoning, and he said he didn't want me to be choosing a CDT just because my friend was on it, clearly he did not know me very well. I also couldn't believe that he thought I was that shallow. I seriously considered quitting the team, but the lead mentor of my CDT, Bill, made everything okay.

Bill can be a bit scary at first, but once you get to know him, he's a really big softy, who acts like an overly protective big brother at competitions. He was very patient with me the first few weeks, until I finally accepted my new place on the team. There were around seven of us on chassis, and for a while I still felt out of place. I didn't have the same bond with them as I did with the two girls on hardware, plus I didn't know how to do anything. I never got to use my mad jigsawing skillz, or crimp a wire. Luckily, Bill showed me the light that was Chassis. First, he introduced me to the greasy mess that is a gear box. I love puzzles, and here was one that I had to find an instruction manual for, and then figure out what that crappy diagram said. Next, Bill introduced me to the greasy chaos of chain. I became the guru of the chain. I learned how to cut it using a dremel (one of my fave power tools), and then how to link it back together again. I owe my love for mechanical engineering to Bill; I wonder where he found the patience...
At the end of each season, we have a banquet, where the mentors give out awards to the girls (i attend an all girls school). And the girls give speeches about the mentors/ give them a gift which is usually baked goods (they're hungry college students). Bill gave the speeches for my CDT, and proceeded to award me the title of team Grease Monkey. I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I dressed up like Bill that day; blue jeans, a decent polo, baseball hat (if only I had one that said NRA), pony tail, and full beard. Some of this required making a trip to the costume shop. I had fun though, and everyone got a kick out of it. Then, the mentors gave out the actual awards (with trophies made of weird toys mounted to some wood). Many of the awards, I was certain I was going to win based on the descriptions they gave about why the chose who the did, but I didn't get them. Finally, it came down to the mentors' award, which is given to a girl whom they think needed to get an award but didn't fit into any of the other categories. I won it, for being the runner up for five of the other awards.

Now, I had no idea what I would end up doing in college. I loved both electrical and mechanical engineering.