In 2001 we joined forces to get students to actively participate in engineering projects; showing them that engineering can be fun and exciting as well as valuable.

Robotics has been the club’s main focus and the team has been very successful over the past years. Students have been to four national robotics championships through FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology), winning the second highest award possible at the 2005 National Competition in Atlanta, Georgia (The Engineering Inspiration Award) and runner up for the top award in 2006.

The club has also competed in national underwater robotics competitions through MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education center), entering the university category. They generated much buzz in 2004 when the four-member team comprised of Mexican immigrants beat out powerhouse universities, including MIT, in a national underwater robotics competition in California. The team placed third in 2005 beating out MIT again, as well as other universities! In 2006 the team won second place convincing skeptics that the kids from Phoenix were for real.

The wins netted the students much media publicity, prompting a scholarship fund for them and movie offers. They received national and international recognition when the story broke and was published in Wired Magazine and Reader’s Digest. Their story is now being adapted for a film that will be produced by Warner Brothers and John Wells, the creator of ER and The West Wing.

Due to the publicity generated by the team’s extraordinary achievements, every senior on the robotics team at Carl Hayden in the past three years - about 20, so far - has gone into the military or college, most on full scholarships. All six of 2006’s seniors will be going to college on full scholarships.
The robotic champs have now become symbols of a national campaign in support of the Dream Act, which would ease immigration and education rules for a growing American population. The students are not only an example in the academic arena but also in their civic participation.