This I Believe: Teamwork

“FIRST is the only varsity ‘sport’ in which all participants can actually turn pro”. This quote by Francois Castaing became a popular description of the FIRST robotics program. In fact, this program has made an impact on many high school students by attracting them with real world experience and challenging them with a complex assignment. But most significantly, it teaches the importance of teamwork. During my second year in the FIRST robotics program at Nashua High Schools, I came to understand this.

This past year, I was assigned to write software, or a set of instructions that the robot follows, for a camera. This would be used to establish a video stream between the robot and the drivers. After reviewing documentation, I began work, placing my initial code within the primary file to test the camera’s functionality. Soon, however, I began adding more instructions, like driving forward. Because the code made sense to me, I did not leave notes explaining my work. What initially was a simple comment turned into hundreds of lines of indecipherable code.

This proved troublesome for the rest of the team. In order to perform their own testing, other programmers had to sift through the tangled mess I left behind. Also, the adult advisors had to read each line of my code to understand my overall intention. Imagine a hotel. After entering its lobby, I decided that it was too warm, so I took off my sweatshirt and left it on the floor. The following day, I realized that my backpack was heavy, so I took it off and threw it onto a chair. This process continued until many of my belongings were in the lobby, rather than in my designated room. “After all”, I thought, “It’s more convenient for me”. This inevitably resulted in frustration among the other patrons of the hotel. Likewise, my code strewn recklessly in the primary file disrupted the rest of the team.

Through this experience, I learned the value of teamwork. My prior experience and a classic approach to software both told me that centralizing code is most efficient. This implies that functionality is valued over readability. The folly of this mindset was illustrated by Randall Munroe’s comic of a mathematician’s analysis of love. After a series of failed attempts involving algebra and trigonometry, he exclaims, “My normal approach is useless here.” Like love, working in a team is based on more than raw technical analysis. It involves consideration of others’ interests. Therefore, writing code for my personal convenience inconveniences the team.

Eventually, I realized this mistake. I moved my code to a separate file, so other programmers could test in the primary file while still having access to my work. In general, my original design was modified to connect with those of others, opening up lines of communications between sections of code. This past year’s experiences taught me the importance of teamwork. When I “turn pro” after college, I will keep this lesson close to my heart.
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This was one of the essays included in my AP English Final Portfolio. Today, I submitted it to the "This I Believe" essay contest. I enjoyed writing it so I decided to upload it.