Editor Note: On March 26, 2025, our Cesar Chavez High School Robotics team, Ocean, left for the Iowa tournament for four days, where it united the robotics community from all around the United States and different countries to compete in different robotic events.

“Our experience at the Iowa tournament was amazing and historic—it was the first time a robotics team from Cesar Chavez High School made it this far, and we were proud to represent our school.” CCHS Robotics Team.

Unfortunately, our Cesar Chavez High School robotics team did not win their event due to intense competition. Their drive team, pit crew, and scouts gave it their all and worked together to strategize and adapt to every game match, but with all the pressure on them, they still had a lot of fun.

“Iowa was more than a competition—it was a big step forward for our team, full of learning, teamwork, and unforgettable moments.” -CCHS Robotics Team.

Backgrounds
Our CCHS Robotics team, Ocean, has been competing since 2023, their second year to compete. With a team this talented, there is always a background story about where their journey began.

“Paul from our CAD team, and Sarina and Pablo from the media team, have each been competing for 1 year. Elijah (our driver and builder), Gabriel (our programmer and builder), Weizun and Xuliang (CAD), and Chyane and Janna (notebook team) have all been involved in robotics for two years. Kian, who focuses on strategy and is part of the drive/build team, has 5 years of experience.
One of our notebook team members has been in robotics the longest, with 6 years of experience.”  CCHS Robotics Team

Although Team Ocean is new to the robotics community, its members have had great backgrounds and experience before joining the CCHS Robotics team. Combining their skills makes their team stronger.

What was their build, and what did it do?

“We built a robot designed specifically for this year’s VEX Robotics Competition game, High Stakes. The game’s goal is to collect colored rings and place them onto stakes positioned around the field. Some stakes are attached to the wall at different heights, while others—called mobile goals—can be moved around during the match. In addition to scoring with rings, another key part of the game is the endgame climb, where robots try to climb a central ladder with three tiers.

Our robot was built with a chassis focused on speed and maneuverability. This allowed us to move around the field quickly and efficiently collect rings. We used a combination of motors, gears, and flex wheels designed to pick up rings from the field.

To secure consistent scoring and strategic control, we also designed a clamping mechanism that could grip and hold onto mobile goals. This helped us in two ways: it allowed us to keep scoring on a specific goal throughout the match and prevented our opponents from using that goal to score their own rings.

While our primary focus was on ring collection and scoring, we also considered endgame performance in our design. Our robot was made compact and stable enough to climb the ladder and reach at least the second tier, depending on how the match played out. Altogether, our robot was built for efficient scoring and imaginative strategic play—balancing offense, defense, and alliance coordination.” -CCHS Robotics team

Roles in a team
But with every team, everyone plays a vital role in strengthening it.The Drive Team: Elijah, Kian, and Gabriel
Their job was to control their robot for the matches. “While one person drove, the other two focused on communication: coordinating with each other and working with our alliance partner to come up with the best possible strategy to win.”-CCHS Robotics Team.

The CAD Team: Weizun, Paul and Xuliang

Their job was to make sure everything was ready before every match. “They double-checked that the robot had a fresh battery, was properly cooled down, and that all drive team members were present and ready before heading to the field.”- CCHS Robots Team.

The Notebook Team: Emily and Chyane

“They knew our robot’s design and build process inside and out. They scouted potential alliance partners and explained what our robot could do, like its strengths and how it was built. This helped our alliances understand how to best work with us before the match even started.”- CCHS Robotics Team.

The Media Team: Sarina and Pablo
Their mission was to capture everything behind the scenes during their visit, interview alliance partners, and document their experience at the Iowa competition.

The Future
Each member of the Ocean team wishes to continue their careers in robotics. “Many of us are planning to go into college for engineering, computer science, or other STEM-related fields.” -CCHS Robotics Team.

CCHS students’ participation in the team Ocean and the competition has opened up new opportunities and allowed them to gain skills that will help them in their future careers.

Mr. Gallegos

Mr. Gallegos was approached to be a pilot teacher for Robotics in the school district. He has been teaching for over 20 years, 10 of those teaching robotics. He spent 8 years at Harrison and has been a teacher at Cesar Chavez High School for 2 years. “I enjoy watching students create solutions to the challenges that they are given. This group of kids has been brainstorming and creating this specific Robot since May of last year.” – Mr. Gallegos

Anyone interested in joining and learning about robotics can talk to their counselor and Mr. Gallegos in G102 about joining his class.