Joel Gibson

I like to putz around the house- whether it’s mowing the lawn, fixing some trivial annoyance, working on my bikes, or making something in the shop- it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Happy Wife..Happy Life

At a high level, I view my engineering role as being a facilitator between manufacturing and sales (i.e. the customer); more specifically, supporting manufacturing in any way that helps them simply, and repeatedly product the quality products that our customers expect.

When I first considered which FRC core value I identified with the most it was an easy call.  Question & Improve.  No reason to read the list of core values beyond that one. After all- I’m an engineer and that’s what we do, right?!   I believe at the heart of every engineer is a yearning to learn how things work, and to find a better, easier, cheaper, lighter and more effective way to do things.  And to me, at first glance anyway, that was a no brainer. That’s why I do what I do!

However, upon perusing the list in its entirety, one thing stuck in my head.  Help first. Wait…what does that mean?!  Serving a greater purpose; assisting others (customers internal & external); & doing things that aren’t necessarily my responsibility to ensure the job gets done.  Yes, that’s it- that is what I do. At the most basic level isn’t engineering about helping people?

The best part of my day is when I’m able to make someone else’s job better.  That may mean designing a better component; improving a burdensome process; helping another associate complete a formidable task; assisting in expediting a sample off to a customer, or sometimes just saying ‘hi’ with a smile to give encouragement.

Helping first.  That’s how I fit in

Smell normal. I can eat tacos instead. I like tacos.