Yusuf Odebiyi
What is your role in FIRST as a Senior Mentor?
My role is to support FRC, FLL, and FTC teams in terms of sharing my experiences and technical knowledge.
What made you decide to become a Senior Mentor?
I am a high school teacher. But before that, I was a mechanical engineer in the private sector. So when I found out about FIRST back in 2010 when I first started teaching, it was a great way for me to bring engineering concepts to the classroom through FIRST Robotics
Which team do you mentor and how did you get involved with that team?
In the 2014 season, I started that year with the rookie team 5036 (Robo devils) at Sir Wilfried Laurier Collegiate high school located in Scarborough. We won rookie all-star that year, as a result, went to St. Louis for the World Championships that year. In 2017, my team 5036 and I went again to St. Louis.
After 2017, I left Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate and started teaching at Emery CI. In 2018, I started team 6977 (CyberSquad) at Emery CI. I am currently the lead mentor for Cyber Squad.
In 2019, I added team 7712 (Umoja Robotics) to my team portfolio, which is an all-black youth robotic community team in the GTA. Youth on the team are from Pickering to Brampton. I help them a lot with my experiences and technical knowledge.
Do you have any words of wisdom for current FIRST students?
Students in FIRST develop soft skills such as teamwork, communication, learning to be assertive and resourceful. These skills are transferable to many career fields, not just engineering. Also, it will help them be successful in life.
Is there anything else you would like us to mention in your profile?
My passion is in STEM. I love my job as a STEM educator. Being a FIRST Senior Mentor allows me to spread the STEM concepts and FIRST values to the communities I serve.
