Woodie Flowers (2006-2007)
Darren Cole

After the team had been working in quiet concentration for over five minutes, only one person was bold enough to break the silence. We should form a didgeridoo band, chuckled mentor Darren Cole as he shook a piece of plexi-glass. Cole's creative and humorous approach, doubled with his expertise in mechanics and leadership, made him invaluable to the success of the team.

Cole, a mechanical engineer at Lockheed Martin, used his people skills to spur progress without being too technical for high school physics students and his engineering skills to help the drive train group and eventually all other groups. Cole/s jolts of comic relief were crucial in easing the stress and tension of building a robot.

"I remember one time when he measured something for the mock up wrong, and I corrected him," recalled Nick Bailey, co-manager of the shooter team. "He said it was a good thing he had a high school student to correct his arithmetic."

Engineers, while often brilliant, do not always give straight and easy answers.  Cole realized he was guiding a group of 35 teenagers and applied the "KIS" theory of engineering ("Keep it simple") to his day-to-day leadership and answered any question, no matter how simple or trivial, and gave straightforward answers without unnecessary engineer jargon or sarcasm. Cole made sure students understood their tasks.

"We were connecting the two ends of the conveyer belt, and after messing up twice, Cole told us that we were professional shoe cobblers by now," recalled team manager Brian Reily.

Cole"s expertise was vital in the overall design of the robot. He thought of new strategies to combat the problems faced in the design and construction phase of building the robot. Never one to shy away from grandiose ideas, he loved to order numerous parts in order to test out his different ideas. It was guaranteed he would have a list of new parts to order at the next meeting.

His positive attitude never wavered despite the road blocks, and his constant presence at team meetings made him the most reliable mentor. Holly Faust, manager of the spirit and logo committee, aptly described Darren Cole, "He has a good heart."

Even on the stressful, last day of robot construction, Cole maintained his cheerful spirit. He suggested putting project manager Brian Reily in the crate with the robot to continue his cobbling duties on the conveyor belt,” said teacher Susan Perryman. "It was hilarious."

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