By Amanda Alaniz

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – NOV. 12, 2025 – Eight Rio Grande Valley high school teams put their best robotic moves forward for a day filled with competition and team spirit.

On Saturday, Nov. 8, UTRGV hosted the BEST Robotic Event, an event where high school robotic teams come together to showcase their creativity and engineering skills through a functioning robot. Last year, UTRGV held the robotic event at Region One in Edinburg, this year it was on the Edinburg campus.  

The robot is required to perform a series of precise tasks within a three-minute window, with two students on the sideline, one serving as the driver and the other as the spotter.  Students were also required to present an engineering notebook, an exhibit and a marketing presentation.

The competing Valley teams were:

• Edinburg High School.
• La Joya High School.
• Lyndon B. Johnson High School.
• Robert Vela High School.
• Roma High School.
• United Engineering and Technology Magnet.
• United South High School.
• Valley View High School.

The purpose of the event is to engage students in the engineering design process, learning to think critically, collaborate effectively and build creatively. Students develop real-world skills in engineering, coding, fabrication and presentation.

The competing teams were judged in five categories including:

• Engineering notebook.
• Marketing presentation.
• Team exhibit.
• Spirit and sportsmanship.
• Robot performance.

The BEST Award is presented to the team with the highest overall score across all five categories. The panel of judges was composed of several UTRGV mechanical engineering students.

Dr. Jianzhi (James) Li, director of the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and part of the event’s organizing team, said he sees the event at UTRGV to inspire the next generation of learners to pursue STEM fields.

“The BEST Robotics event, hosted by the UTRGV Institute for Advanced Manufacturing, exposes students to new opportunities, sparks their interest, and strengthens the regional pipeline of talent needed in STEM and manufacturing,” he said.

Johannes Starks, national executive director BEST Robotics Inc., said the mission of BEST Robotics is to make STEM education accessible, exciting and empowering for every student, especially in Texas.

“Collaborations with universities like UTRGV are key to that mission,” she said. “These partnerships not only provide students with hands-on experiences and mentorship from higher education professionals but also build lasting bridges between high school curiosity and college level opportunity.”

After tallying the scores at the end of the day, the schools that went home with the BEST awards were:

• Roma High School - First Place.
• United Engineering and Technology Magnet - Second Place.

FUTURE INNOVATORS

While the day centered on robotics competitions, students also spent time getting to know one another, sharing ideas, and loudly cheering for their schools.

Emma Escobar, a senior from Roma High School, said it was her first time participating in the BEST Robotics competition. She joined because many of her friends were already involved.

Escobar said the competition brought together students from across the Valley who share an interest in STEM and want to build a sense of community. 

“It can be overwhelming at first, then it became about team spirit, and there is so much positivity and diversity here,” she said. “There is so much collaboration; there is a community built by this.” 

For Priscilla Sandoval, a senior from United Engineering and Technology Magnet in Laredo, this year marked her fourth time attending the competition. She said the experience was both enjoyable and invaluable, especially in helping her improve her presentation skills.

“It’s an event where you can develop yourself, develop yourself with friendships that will last for a lifetime,” she said.

To learn more about BEST Robotics, visit https://bestrobotics.org .