FIRST^®Alumni Relations Resources

The FIRST^®experience doesn't end with high school! Education and career opportunities open up to you as a FIRST participant and alum. Check out the materials below to help educate you on FIRST Alumni Relations and available resources. 

Quick Links

• Graduation and FIRST Signing Day
• Graduation Cord Guidelines
• FIRST Alumni Handbook
• Find a FIRST Alumni Group
• FIRST Scholarship Program 
• FIRST Alumni Brochure (print double-sided if possible)
• FIRST Scholarship Program Prospective Provider Kit - for facilitating conversations with prospective Scholarship Providers

Graduation and FIRST Signing Day

FIRST celebrates graduation each year with FIRST Signing Day. This year's celebrations will take place on May 20, 2025. 

FIRST Signing Day was developed by FIRST Robotics Competition Team 2468 and adopted globally by FIRST to recognize and celebrate graduating students and their next steps after high school. There are two main ways individuals and teams can participate in FIRST Signing Day:

- Posting on social media with the hashtag #FIRSTSigningDay celebrating and recognizing graduates and their next steps

- Host an in-person Signing Day event

Additional resources available soon.

Graduation Cords

The guidelines outlined below are established as a standard requirement for FIRST graduation cords. It's important to understand that the criteria listed are optional and can be adopted by teams as needed to award Graduation Cords. Any high school student actively involved in FIRST is eligible to participate. The responsibility for acquiring and distributing cords lies with the teams or organizations, and this process should be managed internally.

To wear a FIRST Graduation Cord, a student should:

1. be a contributing member of a high school FIRST team for at least one academic year,

2. be in good academic standing with their school and team,

3. actively participate in at least one official FIRST event,

4. actively display Gracious Professionalism,

5. actively embody FIRST Core Values: Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork, and Fun.

FIRST Graduation Cords are available for purchase within the FIRST store. 

Questions may be directed to mlong@firstinspires.org 

​Life Beyond FIRST - Becoming a FIRST Alum

FIRST participation doesn't end after high school - students every single year need people like you to stay involved, volunteer, and give back to the FIRST community! Check out the FIRST Alumni Handbook for ways FIRST helps in building your resume and making lasting life-long connections. 

FIRST Scholarship Program

The FIRST Scholarship Program is a partnership between FIRST and scholarship providing organizations that make scholarships available exclusively to FIRST participants. If you are planning to continue your education after high school whether it is college, university, or trade school, visit the FIRST Scholarship Portal to explore all of the opportunities made available to you.

45+ College Scholarships for Minority Students - published by Purdue University Global

This resource shares 45+ financial aid scholarships for prospective, undergraduate, and graduate students to supplement the cost of their education. This resource provides students with tips on how to apply for scholarships, as well as an extensive list of scholarships and grants. Also highlighted within the resource are opportunities dedicated to specific demographics such as African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Students, Native Americans. The featured scholarships are current and are provided by trusted organizations. The resource will constantly be updated to ensure students can apply to the most accurate scholarships available.

Scholarship Search Resource - PARSE

Developed by FIRST Alum and Dr. Bart Kamen Scholar, this website shares application advice, scholarship lists, and other resources offered from a student perspective. www.PARSEcollege.org

Web Widget

Copy/paste the following code onto your team/region site to link to the FIRST alumni webpages.

Alumni Code
<a href=https://www.firstinspires.org/scholarships?utm_source=scholarship-widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=alumni-scholarship-019  target="_blank"><img alt="Alumni Widget" src=http://www.firstinspires.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resource_library/scholarships/first-alumni-widget.png  /></a>

If you don't see a resource listed on this page that you think would be helpful, please email alumni@firstinspires.org to let us know! We would love to hear your feedback.