12 Jun FIRST Global Transformed My Life; Now I Volunteer

Former students from Brazil, Albania, and the United States of America share how FIRST Global impacted their lives — and why they return each year to give back as volunteers.

A Life-Changing Moment

Luiz competing alongside his teammates at the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge in Washington, D.C.

For Luiz Costa, the course of his life changed in 2017 inside a crowded arena pulsing with the energy of students from nearly 160 nations. Back then, he was a teenager representing Brazil at the FIRST Global Challenge — an international high school robotics competition designed to unite young minds as collaborators solving challenges that transcend borders.

“FIRST Global pretty much shaped my whole future,” Luiz says, still getting goosebumps as he recalls it.

“At that moment, I understood I was not a random student. I was part of Team Brazil. I was representing my country. I had this sense of ownership towards the problems my country was facing. FIRST Global helped me understand that I can be part of the solution to those problems.”

Today, Luiz has a mechanical engineering degree and is a product manager at IBM.

“I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened without that FIRST Global experience that really made me choose this path for my life,” he says. “What you’re getting with robotics is a set of skills, and you can apply this set of skills into anything.”

Around the world, thousands of students who pass through the FIRST Global program emerge with far more than improved skill sets. What begins as an educational opportunity quickly evolves into a redefinition of their identities, futures, and places in the world. .

Discovering Passion and Purpose

Dea collecting an award with her team at the 2019 FIRST Global Challenge in Dubai, UAE.

When Dea Rrozhani joined FIRST Global Team Albania at just 14 years old, she too arrived without a clear plan for her future. STEM was not even on her radar. But surrounded by students from every part of the world, she discovered not only a passion for engineering, but also a sense of belonging.

“There’s nothing that matches the atmosphere that FIRST Global creates,” she says. Just bringing together 190 countries in one arena—you cannot replicate that. I didn’t really think that I wanted to pursue a career in STEM, but after I took part in FIRST Global for so many years, I grew very deeply passionate about robotics, problem solving, and all types of engineering.”

The impact of Dea’s experience inspired her to return as a volunteer to help guide the next cohorts of students and provide the same amazing experience and opportunities she had.

“I love FIRST Global way too much,” Dea says with a laugh. “I had to give back to this competition that gave me so much and shaped my life in such a wonderful way.”

“[To] see all these teams of high school students who were just as excited as I was when I was a student — nervous about the matches, making new friends… People just don’t understand it until they come out here and see the impact that FIRST Global creates.”

Fostering a Lifelong Community

Luiz and Marissa volunteering as referees at the 2023 FIRST Global Challenge in Singapore.

Marissa Schiereck’s robotics journey began at the age of seven when she joined a team through FIRST, the U.S.-based sister program to FIRST Global. As a high school student, Marissa says she was shy. It was robotics, and the volunteers who mentored her, that helped her become more confident in how to speak, how to lead, and how to advocate for STEM.

“I could barely talk, like I was a nervous wreck,” she says. “But through FIRST, they teach you how to be comfortable explaining to people why they should care about STEM. The communication skills I learned — I use them every day.”

When she discovered FIRST Global in 2019, it opened a new door for her entirely. She knew she had to volunteer to pass on the same guidance and encouragement she once received to kids around the globe.

She recalls one moment during an event that really cemented the impact for her.

“This team came to the field and they just had four wheels they could drive. That was it. And then they came to the next field and they had a little arm that could push a ball. I said, ‘You improved your robot — that was amazing!’ You do high fives or fist bumps, and they just kept improving throughout the competition. At the end, they didn’t win. But afterward they found me and said, ‘Marissa, you made our experience worth it.’ I was hooked for life after that.”

For Luiz, Dea, Marissa, and so many others like them, volunteering means being part of a lifelong community that keeps pulling them back year after year.

“I’ve seen it do so much good, actually helping communities, inspiring them to create STEM programs in their countries, and giving students the best chance to get the resources they need to do well in life,” says Marissa. “I love this program. I’m going to come back every time that they’ll let me.”