FIRST Alum Adam Cyran is from FIRST Robotics Competition Team 2180 Zero Gravity in Hamilton, New Jersey. Adam received a FIRST Scholarship to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He wanted to stay involved with FIRST in college, so he volunteered as a game announcer at events. “Each event revitalizes my energy and passion for this program and makes me want to come back each time,” he says.

What did you do after becoming a FIRST Alum?
I attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute on a FIRST Scholarship and study Mechanical Engineering.  I’m also an Engineering Intern at Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ.

What are your future plans?
After I graduate from WPI in the Spring of 2018, I will return to NAVAIR as a full-time employee and start my career as an engineer in the Aircraft Launching and Recovery (ALRE) department.

How has your FIRST experience impact your post-graduation life?
Because of FIRST, I was able to go to WPI set off on the right foot with a scholarship. This started my collegiate academic career and inspired me to apply for and receive a scholarship through the Department of Defense to help support my tuition costs and post-graduation employment.

You’ve continued to be involved with FIRST as an Alum; what have you been up to?
As I graduated, it was disappointing to be taken out of the role as a student, working tirelessly on my team's robot. However, as I became a college freshman, I knew I needed to stay involved. I mentored Team 190 for my first year at WPI and then decided to shift my focus to primarily volunteering at many New England District Events since 2015 as a game announcer. Each event revitalizes my energy and passion for this program and makes me want to come back each time.

You shared that you’ve made and kept great FIRST friends – any advice to current Participants on how to do that?
Absolutely. My biggest piece of advice is stay active with the program and volunteer. I stay in contact with friends from my high school team, but additionally I find that every event I attend, I always meet new and exciting people who naturally become my friends after about five minutes of robot talk. It's really amazing to connect with such amazing people at every event. Even if it's been a year since the last event and the last time you saw them, you pick up right where you leave off each time.

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