Grade: 11

Started with SA in: Tejas: Grade 9; Ryan: Grade 10

Future plans: Tejas: “Definitely something with computer science and robotics. And doing more research. Maybe a PhD – that would be cool.” Ryan: “I have very little idea. I do robotics and musical theater, so I’m all over the place with that.”

Role model: Ryan: “I’m going to say Donald Glover. He’s an actor, musician, and singer. He’s multi-talented and great at everything he does.” Tejas: “We have three coaches on our robotics team, and I’ve never seen anyone put so much time and effort into anything before. They work so hard for us. I definitely admire that.”

Favorite thing about SA: Tejas: “Being able to explore your interests is a big one, and all of the computer science classes.” Ryan: “I think it’s great that students are able to try a bunch of things. That’s why I came here.”

Spotlight: Both Ryan and Tejas compete under BrainSTEM robotics but on two separate teams. Ryan is a member of the older team for their age group, named The Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team, while Tejas just joined his team this year, and they proudly boast the longest team name in state history: Brobdingnagian Tritocephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team. Both teams have had a successful season with the FIRST® Tech Challenge, and have recently had the opportunity to compete together. In early February, at a qualifying tournament in Virginia, both teams advanced to the finals and were able to form an alliance that placed first in the robotics game portion of the event. They both advanced to the PA State Championship on March 4 where they competed against one another in the third round with Tejas’s team reigning victorious. Competition throughout the day was so intense, Tejas said, “I texted my family: ‘this is an emotional roller coaster.’” By the final preliminary round, Tejas’s team was in the lead and selected Ryan’s team for their alliance in the finals. Ryan pointed out that, “our organization’s values of working together and gracious professionalism superseded any internal competition between our two teams.” The skills and talents of both teams complimented one another and the members of Ryan’s more experienced team were able to serve as mentors, leading the alliance to win the state championship. Tejas’s team also earned the Motivate Award which goes to the team that best embraces the culture and essence of FIRST® and represents FIRST® in their community, and his team has qualified for the World Championship event in Houston, Texas in April where they will compete against 191 other teams from 26 countries. He will be able to rely on Ryan’s experience – Ryan’s team was a division finalist at last year’s World Championship. “It’s been a dream of mine since freshman year,” said Tejas. “So it’s awesome to have it.”