Szwankowski was impressed by Oscar. Traci Lords. "I hope you win," she called out, laughing. Like a tampon. Jos Crdenas: It was an eye opener for you, too. Cristian was beaming. Approximately 60,000 undocumented students graduate from US high schools every year. The Wired magazine article, and subsequent stories printed in The Arizona Republic and elsewhere, said all four students on the winning robotics team were undocumented. Santillan received deferred action in 2012. This weekend, which will be on Sunday afternoon, you would have to check your local schedule for that, but it's going to be simultaneously broadcast in Spanish and English on Telemundo and MSNBC. What does this have to do with Blue ROV? The team beat out prestigious colleges, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004. They were nervous and overcompensated for each other's joystick movements, causing Stinky to veer off course. Carl Hayden High School's victory in a robotic competition over colleges has inspired two films. Due to their undocumented status, however, their post high school career success has been limited. It was a bold idea. A leak could take the whole system down. What do you tell the kids that come after them? One broken wire would destroy the whole system, forcing them to withdraw from the contest. >> The next generation of autonomous vehicles. Students from cities across the countryMiami; New Haven, Connecticut; Galveston, Texas; Long Beach, California; and half a dozen othersmilled around the water's edge. The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. This ragtag group from Carl Hayden Community High School in West Phoenix constructed the robot out of cheap plastic tubing and garbage. >> Who are these punks from nowhere that had no business doing what they do? He, his wife and two children are moving to Glendive, Montana. Jos Crdenas: That's an excellent point. Fredi Lajvardi: Yeah, I mean, talent can be found anywhere. With no experience, 800 bucks, used car parts and a dream, this rag tag team goes up against the country's reigning robotics champion, MIT. Oscar spent 45 minutes on the phone digging deeper and deeper into thermometer physics. >> Oh, my god. "Us illiterate people from the desert?" The Republic told his story. Every inch of PVC had a clear purpose. "It's heartbreaking," she said. As Stinky floated forward a half inch, its rear raised up and the sampling pipe sank perfectly into the drum. They didn't want to be "special"they wanted third. The drivers, Cristian and Oscar, could make the bot hover, spin in place, and angle up or down. Lisa Bonet Then. "Can we make a little noise?" Now the duo is killing it on their fourth John Wickand still keeping technology in check. ", Lorenzo threw his arms into the air, looked at Ledge, and silently mouthed the word "Hooters.". Later, the teachers told me who MIT was and all the other colleges that we had just beat. The team arrived at the Olympic-size UC Santa Barbara pool on a sunny Thursday afternoon. The overall winner would be determined by combining those results with the engineering interview and a review of each group's technical manual. Joshua Davis' Spare Parts is an inspiring true story of undocumented high school students who overcome poverty, racism, and fear of deportation to compete in a robotics competition against. Their teachers sign them up to compete against colleges, rather than in the high school division, figuring they might as well lose big. After those moments, the more complicated story starts. He eyed their rudimentary flip chart. Before they could sit down again, Merrill told them that they had won the technical writing award. By 2 in the morning, Oscar's eyesight was blurring, but he kept at it. When his scholarships and in-state tuition were taken away by the state law barring illegal immigrants from receiving them, Vazquez took on extra jobs. >> When we arrived at the competition, I was pretty nervous. Cameron had peppered them with questions on the drive to Santa Barbara, and Cristian was ready. This year, he left the military and took a job as a foreman in a locomotive repair and maintenance yard at BNSF railroad. The pool was concealed under a black tarpthe contest organizers didn't want the students to get a peek at the layout of the mission. "You officially don't suck.". And though they've lived in Arizona for an average of 11 years, they would still have to pay out-of-state tuition, which can be as much as three times the in-state cost. According to a 2005 report by the Pew Center, 49 percent of undocumented high school students drop out before graduation. A shortened version will air at 10 a.m. Sunday on cable station MSNBC and at noon in Spanish on Telemundo, KTAZ-TV, Channel 39. I feel that every time I think about it.". The sharp question from the van's driver, Allan Cameron, snapped Lorenzo out of his reverie. That's our show for tonight. The students have created a legacy of success at the west Phoenix high school. Marisa Tomei and Jaime Lee Curtis also star. It signaled to them that they'd missed it. Team 842: Falcon Robotics Falcon Robotics Team 842 from the heart of Phoenix, Arizona won the Chairman's Award at the 2008 FIRST Championship. When his friends started to get arrested for theft, he dropped out. Ad Choices, How 4 Mexican Immigrant Kids and Their Cheap Robot Beat MIT. He had grown up rebuilding car engines with his brother and cousin. But over three days last summer, these kids from the desert proved they are among the smartest young underwater engineers in the country. The Out-of-Control Spread of Crowd-Control Tech. ", "And the overall winner for the Marine Technology ROV championship," Merrill continued, looking up at the crowd, "goes to Carl Hayden High School of Phoenix, Arizona! For all, it was their first time in New York. Meet the Superusers Behind IMDb, Everyones Favorite Movie Site. "Spare Parts", a movie based on the true story of the Carl Hayden High School Falcon Robotics Team, follows the journey of four students who are eager to compete in a national robotics competition. And they win it all. Jos Crdenas: Cristian, what about afterwards? Without AC, the trailer turns into a double-wide oven in the desert heat. The task was to withdraw 500 milliliters of fluid from the container 12 feet below the surface. "Excuse me, madam," he began. Lorenzo Santillan: I had just entered the competition -- I joined the robotics team because my friend had left for Mexico and I didn't have anywhere to go. >> Kids at Carl Hayden high school become leaders. Someone had to be well rested for the contest, so Cristian and Luis slept that night. Santillan said he and his robotics team were not the only high school students in that situation. The first thing they did was smash the robot into a wall. The other entrants almost all college students had corporate sponsors and serious budgets. Oscar began by explaining that his high school team was taking on college students from around the US. For further information, contact the Carl Hayden High School robotics team adviser Allan Cameron at: . But Lorenzo didn't have much else to do after school. If the water had touched any of the controls, the system would have shorted out and simply stopped working. It was up to Oscar and Cristian. Bryce Merrill, the bearded, middle-aged recruiting manager for Oceaneering International, an industrial ROV design firm, was the announcer. To dream and to fly. He looked at each team member pointedly. "Most asked for a driver's license, too," he said, something Arizona had not allowed. in /nfs/c05/h04/mnt/113983/domains/toragrafix.com/html/wp-content . Lorenzo's face still had its baby fat, but he'd recently sprouted a mustache and had taken to wearing a fistful of gold rings, a gold chain, and a gold medallion of the Virgin Mary pierced through the upper part of his left ear. It was nerve-racking work. How they went toe-to-toe with the nation's most educated and experienced engineering college students. 15. Following the publication of this story in 2005, WIRED readers contributed more than $90,000 in scholarships for Vazquez, Arcega, Aranda, and Santillan. Pantelion films was next to buy the rights. Now They're Competing on a World Stage. Arcega and Santillan, from the 2004 champion team, were on those teams as well, along with a rotating band of students. After The Cosby Show Lisa . So we had to put that in the contract that she would be able to still be able to make the documentary and everything worked out right. marc, richie nathan, johan michelle, angel david, dante. And thanks for coming back on the show. How boring is that? For example, Angelica Hernandez, a former member of the Carl Hayden robotics team, is now working as an engineer at Nexant Corporation, where she specializes in renewable energy. >> They broke the mold and said catch me if you can. Cristian started yelling, and all three ran out to hug Luis, who held the now-filled blue balloon. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation. >> Make a difference in my community. Whether they are documented or not, its a waste of human capital to educate these kids and prevent them from contributing to society, she said at a screening of the film in New York City. He didn't want to go to jail. Drooping, baggy jeans and XXXL hoodies are the norm. They tried a different angle but still couldn't reach the drum. Thanks Structural Concepts for The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our livesfrom culture to business, science to design. Jos Crdenas: I understand ultimately it's a collaboration between her and Lions Gate. >> But the robot was only the beginning. Things got worse when Luis lowered Stinky into the water. Santillan, 26, went to culinary school, fulfilling a passion for cooking sparked as a child watching chefs Jamie Oliver and Jacques Pepin on public television. All rights reserved. Fredi Lajvardi: Yeah, Lions Gate jumped on afterwards. Cristian Arcega and Lorenzo Santillan, two members of the 2004 Carl Hayden High School robotics team and Fredi Lajvardi, Carl Hayden robotics team coach talk about the documentary. The remarkable story of the ragtag, but ultimately world-famous Falcon Robotics Team from Carl Hayden High in Phoenix unfolded in 2004. The air inside the pipe would create buoyancy as well as provide a waterproof housing for wiring. When they reached the submarine, they saw the drum and tried to steady the robot. Fredi Lajvardi: Yeah. This story was originally published in April 2005. Aranda said he was never tested for a dyslexia or other learning disabilities. 1:06 For a time Wednesday evening, a robot named Stinky, created 13 years ago by a team of immigrant Phoenix high-school students, shared the same storied Washington, D.C., building that houses. This button displays the currently selected search type. Jos Crdenas: Tell us about that. "And Dr. Cameron and I will retire, too.". We estimate that the number of people who simply won't be able to afford their energy bills will double. MIT's ROV motored smoothly down and quickly located the 5-gallon drum inside the plastic submarine mock-up at the bottom of the pool. The Mystery Vehicle at the Heart of Teslas New Master Plan, All the Settings You Should Change on Your New Samsung Phone, This Hacker Tool Can Pinpoint a DJI Drone Operator's Location, Amazons HQ2 Aimed to Show Tech Can Boost Cities. The other kids had simply asked him what they wanted and hung up. Only MIT and Cape Fear Community College from North Carolina had done better. Cameron hadn't expected many students to be interested, particularly not a kid like Lorenzo, who was failing most of his classes and perpetually looked like he was about to fall asleep. (Sound on tape) Several of the teams former members helped form the Arizona Dream Act Coalition, an immigrant-led youth organization. Cameron was the computer science teacher sponsoring Carl Hayden's robotics program. They spun the robot around, piloted it back to Luis at the edge of the pool, and looked at the judges, who stood in the control tent behind them. In fact, it was the complete opposite. Team Leader Kristen Shriner Kristen is a senior at Carl Hayden High school. Without any experience and using old car parts, the team enlists the help of their teacher (George Lopez), to build a robot and compete against MIT. He stood behind a podium on the temporary stage and glanced down at his notes. He thought of himself as part American, part Mexican, and he didn't know where to sit. He then became a paratrooper and was sent to Afghanistan. They'd have to resolder every wire going into the main controller in the next 12 hours. There wasn't an excellent program for the contest these boys wanted to enter. Aranda, 28, also went to culinary school. "Like a tampon?". Schools assigned him to the English as a Second Language classes. He dropped one last dab of alloy on the connection and sat back. Cristian Arcega: There's always a deeper meaning, especially when it affects you directly and I hope what other people take from this is there's a lot of barriers in this country, especially if you're undocumented or whatever other problems you have individually, but you always have to have hope and you always have to keep trying your best and try to get to your goals, because even if you don't reach them, I haven't become a mechanical engineer yet, but I'm still aiming for that. "You can't think success is just one sort of result," he said. 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"There are millions of kids just like these kids all over America," she said. >> Knowing you can't do something just because you're lacking a piece of paper is kind of devastating. These teenage underdogs from the mean streets of Phoenix challenged the best underwater engineering students in the countryand took the top prize. Bill Murray and more 'Saturday Night Live' stars of the '70s: Where are they now? Lorenzo Santillan, 16, sat in the front seat of the school van and looked out at the migrant farmworkers in the fields along Interstate 10. Its only opening was a small, half-inch pipe fitted with a one-way valve. Turns his back on a gang to join the robotics team, feeling a sense of true belonging for the first time in his life Learns the importance of creativity by watching his cousins repair cars in the drivewaytheir impromptu auto shop Nicknames the team's underwater ROV "Stinky" Luis The group was from Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix. He proposed housing the battery system on board, in a heavy waterproof case. They hadn't eaten well over the past two days, and even flavorless iceberg lettuce looked good to them. But over three days last summer, these kids from the desert proved they are among the smartest young underwater engineers in the country. He spends his summers driving a recreational vehicle across cooler parts of the country. Lajvardi, who was part of the MIT visit, said there was an uncomfortable feeling in the room when the teams compared jobs over the past decade. This summer, his team was preparing a robot to compete in an underwater competition. MIT's robot was supposed to land on the container, create a seal, and pump out the fluid. After Hernandez is introduced, the film starts to focus on the legendary Carl Hayden underwater robotics team, which at this point has been featured in both. Vazquez, 28, took a risk to not be in the country illegally anymore.