Mentors

4020 would not be the team it is today without the guidance of these dedicated mentors!

Dave Hrivnak

Mentor since 2012

Education: B.S. in Industrial Engineering and M.B.A.

Occupation: Former Systems Analyst at Eastman Chemical Company

“FIRST works better than anything else I’ve seen at getting kids excited about STEM”

Mike Paulonis

Mentor since 2013

Education: Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering

Occupation: Former Head of Data Science at Eastman Chemical Company

“Mentoring for the FIRST Robotics Competition is the hardest fun I’ll ever have”

Mert Dibble

Mentor since 2013

Education: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering

Occupation: Former Mechanical Engineer at Eastman Chemical Company

“I like to tinker around“

Mack Lowe

Mentor since 2015

Education: B.S. in Accounting

Occupation: Retired from Eastman Chemical Company 

PAul GillenWater

Mentor since 2017

Education: B.S. in Chemistry

Occupation: Former Manufacturing Manager at Eastman Chemical Company

“Make a contribution on the youth of today with STEM related mentoring”

Laurie Paulonis

Mentor since 2020

Education: B.S. in Chemical Engineering and M.S. in Environmental Engineering

Occupation: Former Industrial Safety Manager at Eastman Chemical Company

“Girls can build.”

Brad Willson

Mentor since 2020

Education: B.S. in Electrical Engineering

Occupation: Electrical Engineer at Cardinal Glass

“FIRST is awesome!”

Andy Paulonis

Mentor since 2022

Education: B.S. in Computer Science and M.S. in Business Analytics

Occupation: Data Scientist at Eastman Chemical Company

"FRC lets me blend my STEM skills and my competitive drive to succeed in a very unique challenge."

Caitlin WIllson

Mentor since 2024

Education: A.A.S. in Business

Occupation: Event Producer at Northeast State Community College

“FIRST is awesome!”