Volunteer Spotlight - David Edelson

When your wife is a teacher and the school rep for Team 624, and the team needs a fresh pair of eyes… you become the fresh pair of eyes. David Edelson has been mentoring with 624 CRyptonite since 2010 and volunteering at competitions since 2012. Over the years, he’s been a busy bee as crowd control, robot inspector, lead queuer, field build/teardown, field reset, field supervisor, and judge.

One of David’s most memorable moments was his first solo Field Supervisor role during FIRST STEAMworks in Lubbock. He was joined by Paul George, the lead FTA in all of FIRST, and Joe Varnell, senior FTA for FIRST in Texas, but no pressure! “I learned a lot, and both Paul and Joe told me I did a good job,” David says. He still laughs about that game: “It had a gazillion yellow balls, and I’m still convinced teams dumped all the bins just to annoy me.” (Spoken like a true volunteer—with humor and heart.)

For David, the most rewarding part of mentoring is the student's “aha moment” when hours of prototyping finally pay off. “The student is ecstatic and really proud of their accomplishment,” he shares. He also takes pride in welcoming and guiding new, younger volunteers into the FIRST community. It’s so wholesome to see young people dedicate themselves to the mission of empowering students in STEM.

Even though mentoring and volunteering are a big commitment, David doesn’t mind. He enjoys the interactions with his team, with students from across Texas, and with the incredible volunteer community.

Thank you, David, for everything you do.
For guiding students and giving back with unwavering dedication! Paul and Joe were right: you’re doing a great job.