Student Leads

The Student Leadership team consists of 1 lead from every sub-team and 3 captains. The Student Leadership meets weekly to discuss overall sub-team statuses and review team progress. Members of the Student Leadership team plan for the upcoming weeks and events while addressing any issues or improvements for the team. Although these are the “official” student leaders, there are considerable amounts of opportunities for other students to step up and take leadership roles despite having or not having an “official” title.

Additionally, there is a support team with 2 roles: Safety Captain and Human Resources Specialist to further assist the team in robot and non-robot related events.

All Student Leadership positions must be held by students who are or will be in 10th–12th grade and were a team member in the previous year. If there is no suitable person for the position, it will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. 

The Lead Coach, in consultation with the Captains, may remove a student from a leadership position for repeated or intolerable violations of team rules or standards, or when a student is unable to fulfill their responsibilities as a member of the Student Leadership team. 

Student Captains

FRC Team 2181 has 3 Student Captains. Student Captains lead the discussion during team meetings, ensure that other students are on track and are meeting their goals, communicate input from students and mentors to improve the team, and strive to make the team succeed and become better each year. They also lead a team during the MinneTrials season in the fall. 

The GEARS 2181 Student Captains are members who are voted on by mentors and by other students to lead the team. All interested students are encouraged to apply for Student Captain. Applications require a resume and answers to application questions. 

Leadership Selection Process

All members from the Student Leadership team, excluding the Captains, are selected by mentors and captains. Students may only have 1 leadership position at a time unless there are circumstances that do not allow for it. Cases such as this will be done on a case-by-case basis. The Student Leaders may only be selected from the team or teams that they are currently on. For example, the Programming Team Lead will be chosen from someone within the Programming team itself. 

Captain applicants submit a resume and answer application questions. Student team members vote on potential captain candidates and give reasons as to why they chose that candidate. Mentors then vote themselves by using student input to guide their decision for Student Captains. Captains are announced annually at the end of the season banquet.

After the official leadership selections, the chosen candidates will be informed that they can become a Student Leader. If the candidate chooses not to accept the position offered, the mentors and Student Captains will revise their decision and send the offer to another candidate whom they deem suitable for the role. After all candidates have accepted their offer, the Student Captains announce the results of the selection process to the team.

Coaches/Mentors

Coaches and Mentors are professionals who spend hours supporting and aiding FRC Team 2181 GEARS. They assist with constructive criticism, helping newer members, and empowering members to be the best they can. Coaches and Mentors are the gears who keep the team moving and inspire others. 

All mentors/coaches are required to do a background check and Youth Protection Policy training through the FIRST organization website. They are also required to do a background check through the Anoka Hennepin School District. 

Anyone interested in mentoring should reach out to Head Coach Jeremy at jeremy@frcteam2181.com. 

Current 2026-2027 Mentors

• Danny 

• Dan 

• Devin 

• Emily 

• Jarod 

• Jarrod 

• Jeremy 

• Josh 

• Kaleb 

• Lacey 

• Nathan 

• Sam