our essay for the Ambassador application:

Throughout this FLL season,  we used the FLL Core Values many times to help us succeed. Core Values spread from the judging room, to all areas of FLL, to even outside of FLL. The Core Values became an important part of our everyday lives.

This first Core Value was one we found a lot throughout our lives, especially in FLL. With ten members spread from 3rd grade to 8th grade, it was hard for everyone to like each other. At first, our team was messy, and there were tensions. But as the season progressed, we learned to work well together despide personal feelings. We split team into groups, and gave each member chance to make contribution to robot game and project. We then integrate each group’s solutions together through discussion to get the team’s solution. By the end, we had a full team ready for the competition

We also used the second Core Value. Our coaches are always there when we need help. We were given freedom to test our ideas and thoughts. We do work while coaches and mentors keep us in check. Their help always came in forms like discussion and suggestions instead of command. Our team illustrates how coaches work with the team but not carry it.

Through the season, coaches and the team learn alongside one another. Many time, discussions between coaches and the team only led to rough ideas, and left the team to study and learn exactly what to do. Sometimes the team members provided ideas that even coaches and mentors had not thought of, and gave them big surprises.

We were able to honor the spirit of friendly competition while having lots of fun at the same time. Our team was a very competitive team, and still is. The difference between then and now is that, instead of focusing only on our competition result, we can now have fun, help other teams, and enjoy it at the same time. At the competition, there were some friends of ours on another team. Though we were rivals, we hung out and congratulated each other.

We shared FLL with many people both in and outside of the FLL community. We held a summer camp during the summer of 2017 to teach neighborhood kids about LEGO Mindstorms and FLL. We also shared FLL at local Boy Scouts. We published an article in middle school newspaper, introducing this year’s FLL challenge and our our project. We shared our project among our community too.

Our team displays Gracious Professionalism in a multitude of ways. At the competition, we cheered for both us and other teams. We encouraged other teams when they did not have a successful run attempt, and congratulated them when they had a great run . We spoke with other teams about their project ideas and robot design and strategies. We shared with them our experience and lessons. We focused how to deal with the challenge we face together.