Corey Brown is a really down-to-earth mentor that makes learning fun, enjoyable, and very understandable. He really encourages us to use our minds to problem solve by asking questions instead of giving us the direct answer. His passions are FRC and getting youth involved in engineering. To motivate us to work better as a team, he works right alongside of us and encourages us every step of the way to do our best.
Layman’s terms are used when he explains difficult concepts to us. Even the students that don’t get many of the college level engineering and physics terms and concepts that we put into building our robot this year, understand them better when Corey explains them simply. Not only does he do this to help students understand engineering and our robot, but he also does it when he is mentoring others with their homework.
Mentoring is something that he does not take lightly. He works one-on-one mentoring students in their academics when they need help. Everyday when robotics starts, he would assist anyone who needs help in any homework assignments and takes time to explain to them the basic concepts of the problems. He takes a keen interest in our lives and is very open to discussing individual interests, even those outside of robotics.
He inspires us to use critical thinking when we try to solve problems. His questioning process guides us to think about the possible solutions and the benefits and faults of our solutions through reasoning. One really helpful thing he does is to write a huge list on a whiteboard about things we need to accomplish or to improve. Other than the whiteboard, he even prints out models of our robot using his MakerBot Replicator to explain some ideas he came up with. His Replicator also came in handy when manufacturing some of our parts that are hard to machine with a CNC mill.
To greater influence us with his mentorship, Corey always brings forth a fun team attitude with him. He tries to instill this spirit into us so that we as a team can work. This is done with his brainstorming sessions about robot designs where he asks everyone about their inputs and tried to build on top of each team member’s ideas. Corey also tries to incorporate as many people into doing CADD design as possible usually lending out his computer to people that do not have a computer to work on.
Finally with all the great things Corey does, he is still a student. He is currently a senior at Iowa State University trying to graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He not only helps out with our team at least 5 hours a day, but balances that with his school work,and trying to find a job all at the same time.
Corey is the embodiment of the Woodie Flowers award. He does an outstanding job communicating difficult concepts to our team in terms that all can understand. He has high expectations and motivates us to reach our goals. At the same time, he models balance and patience. All of this is accomplished in a fun, spirited way. A way that would make FIRST proud.
