Hey gang!
I’m Chris Mause, and I coach the middle school robotics team (VEX V5) at Tempe Prep, in Tempe, Arizona.
I am, perhaps, a bit of an outlier here, as I’m not a professional educator. In my day job, I’m the VP of Technology at a payments company where I oversee 5 software development teams. Leading up to my current role, I have over 30 years of professional software development experience. My goal in participating in PD+ is to contribute where I’m strong while working to develop some of my weak areas. I’ll be the first to admit I could stand to strengthen my skills in leading a room full of middle-schoolers. When it comes to the technical and programming side of things, I hope I can offer a different and beneficial perspective, particularly on some of the thornier questions.
When the pandemic hit, our robotics team wasn’t able to meet in person, so we used VEXcode VR over Zoom. I have become a huge fan of VEXcode VR, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes in the future.
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Welcome Chris! I am quite familiar with Tempe. I actually grew up over in Chandler, AZ and went to Hamilton High School and to ASU for my Masters. So very excited to see a familiar area.
Cannot wait to hear your different perspective and hopefully learn a lot from you with the programming side of things!
Hi @Chris_Mause Thanks for joining the PD+ community. We are looking forward to collaborating.
Hi @Chris_Mause! Welcome to the community. I am excited to see you here and to learn how you are implementing robotics with your students. I’m also thrilled to see your post (link here) about how we can engage more girls in STEM and robotics! This is a subject near and dear to my heart and I will post more on that thread!
I look forward to hearing more from you and sharing strategies for welcoming more girls into the fold!
Hey Y’all! I am Leslie Cruse, Team Engagement Manager at the REC Foundation! I fell in love with VEX Robotics in 2013 and joined the REC Foundation in 2016. I currently cover Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. I am also the Program Manager for the REC Foundation Educator Training Program. I am so excited to meet everyone and hear all about what you are doing in the VEX Community!
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Hi @Leslie_Cruse Great to have you. Welcome to the PD+ community
Hi @Leslie_Cruse! So glad you’re here! I’m sure you’ll have some really great insights, tips, and tricks to share for all the competition team mentors and educators out there!
Hi @Leslie_Cruse ! So glad to have you as a part of the PD+ community!
Hi welcome, it’s a great place to share resources so you’ll fit right in !
Hello all!
I am a Google mentor with the RECF Google MOVER program.
I am a software engineer and manager at Google and I’m based not far from our Mountain View, CA headquarters. I’m very new to robotics and very excited to be getting involved! It’s cool to be meeting all these educators - what y’all do is awesome.
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Hi Suzanna,
Welcome to the PD+ community and thank you for your participation in the Google MOVER program.
Hi @Suzanna_Shwert, welcome to the community! So glad you’re here! I can’t wait to learn more about what you’re doing with the Google MOVER program! 
HI Suzanna!
Welcome to the community. We’re a an eclectic group- haha! I look forward to learning more about the Google MOVER program.
Happy 2022 everyone! My name is Nancy Nguyen. I’m a new VEX VRC robotics middle school parent-coach at Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, TN. My background is in Finance for 20 years and I’ve been involved with our robotics program since 2017. I’m passionate about robotics and the future of STEM in the US and have much to learn from a coaching vantage point. I’m excited to have the opportunity to be involved with PD+ and look forward to meeting you online.
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Welcome Nancy! Hope your season has gone well so far. Looking forward to hearing how it goes
Hi Nancy! Welcome to the community and we are looking forward to interacting.
Hi Nancy! Thanks so much for giving your time to help advance our students’ understanding of robotics and STEM! We are happy to have you as part of PD+!
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Hi Nancy! Great to meet you!!!
Hi! Suzanna, nice to meet you!
Hi everyone! My name is Kristen and I am a second grade teacher in Texas and a newbie to the robotics world. This is my fourteenth-year teaching. I have experience in grades 1-3, but most of my career has been in a second and third grade classroom.
My school district is composed of 27 elementary schools. I am currently a teacher at an elementary campus that was selected to pilot Robotics, Coding, and Computational Thinking this school year. My campus was one of three elementary campuses in our district chosen so I am very honored to be a part of learning and helping my school and district get it all started.
I am an active member of my school’s steering committee where I have learned a lot about coding and how I can use it in my classroom. This has been a year of learning for all of us. I have enjoyed collaborating with my RCC Director, Learning Technology Coach, and Reading Coach to explore coding and connect it to the skills being taught in second grade. I know I still have a ton left to learn and so I am extremely excited to be a part of the VEX Prof + community. I can’t wait to learn more about robotics and hear all the ways I can incorporate VEX into my second-grade classroom. 
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