Fredi Lajvardi: It inspired them more, it gave them more sense of purpose and more that they wanted to prove to everyone they were worth it, even if it meant having to pay out of state tuition, even though they live in the state and they purchase everything in the state, and in some cases, pay taxes, so it just motivated them more to do it and I didn't expect that. The former high school students along with their teacher are featured in Mary Mazzios documentary Underwater Dreams., Underwater Dreams Documentary Lorenzo Santillana, According to a 2005 report by the Pew Center, helped form the Arizona Dream Act Coalition. "Why don't you have a PowerPoint display?" Santillan has a catering business and a job at a restaurant. There's the excitement. Those "just a paycheck" jobs, as he calls them, will help fund his designs for consumer electronics. Across campus, in a second-floor windowless room, four students huddle around an odd, 3-foot-tall frame constructed of PVC pipe. The documentary took nine years to get going, but it's gotten going now and premiered in New York City is that right? Cristian knew that they were faced with two serious problems: bad wiring and a leak. Because Stinky's copper pipe was 18 inches long, it was able to reach the drum. He liked it there. The Republic told his story. There were a few students that graduated and they came back and said and they, you know, gave us feedback on what the story had turned into. You can now save articles. Call (602)-764-3000 for assistance with any questions, comments or concerns. Rocket-obsessed oligarchs. Three are involved in underwater robotics, with one headed to a project in Antarctica. Just getting them to the Santa Barbara contest in June with a robot would be an accomplishment, Cameron thought. Aranda said that happened sometime during high school, though he doesn't exactly remember when. Oscar tapped the control forward while Cristian gave a short backward blast on the vertical propellers. "You officially don't suck.". Jos Crdenas: Kind of like LeBron James going back to Cleveland. Carl Hayden Community High School doesn't have a swimming pool, so one weekend in May, after about six weeks of work in the classroom, the team took Stinky to a scuba training pool in downtown Phoenix for its baptism. But life after high school has not been easy for the members of the 2004 Carl Hayden robotics team, mainly because of their lack of legal status. The school continues to compete successfully on the national level in robotics competitions, inspiring other Carl Hayden students to excel, like Dulce Matuz, named one of the world's most influential people by Time Magazine. ", "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! He didn't want to walk around the streets. For three of the four, their legal status has been an obstacle to entering college or finding employment. Following the publication of this story in 2005, WIRED readers contributed more than $90,000 in scholarships for Vazquez, Arcega, Aranda, and Santillan. The Carl Hayden Falcon Robotics team made news a few years ago when their underwater robot competed in the university category and won! He explained that the judges created this spontaneously to honor special achievement. Four teenaged boys from Phoenix, Arizona, decided to build an underwater robot. Carl T. Hayden Community High School is part of the Phoenix Union High School District. But if they couldn't figure out how to waterproof their case, Cristian argued, then they shouldn't be in an underwater contest. It was devastating, especially since I had turned down offers from other colleges outside Arizona., Arcega would have liked to obtain a Masters Degree, and then work in research and development. It didn't give him a good feeling. "I hope you win," she called out, laughing. . He stood behind a podium on the temporary stage and glanced down at his notes. Four Mexican high school students form a robotics club. It was a bold idea. After those moments, the more complicated story starts. In December 2014, WIRED contributing editor Joshua Davis published a book, Spare Parts, updating the kids story. He enjoys walking into the half-built homes and analyzing the engineering. The kids were too confident. "We used a helium neon laser, captured its phase shift with a photo sensor, and manually corrected by 30 percent to account for the index of refraction," Cristian answered rapidly, keyed up on adrenaline. he asked. This button displays the currently selected search type. It allows him to see how a kitchen operates and gains him experience with a wide variety of dishes. "It's heartbreaking," she said. The point is to be successful at what you're doing.". Joshua Davis has also written a book about the team (due out in September) entitled Spare Parts.. While other teams machined and welded metal frames, the guys broke out the rubber glue and began assembling the PVC pipe. The whir of Stinky's propellers brought him back to the task at hand, extracting a water sample from a submerged container. Cristian Arcega: There definitely was. He could see himself having to quit school to work in those fields. Cristian started yelling, and all three ran out to hug Luis, who held the now-filled blue balloon. Fredi Lajvardi: Yeah, Lions Gate jumped on afterwards. Luis stood there with a silly grin on his face while his friends danced around him. Though the Carl Hayden team didn't know it, MIT had designed an innovative system of bladders and pumps to carry out this task. It wouldn't be until a year later that a reporter for Wired magazine told the story of the win. Carl Hayden Robotics Team Documentary July 17, 2014 More from this show Underwater Dreams is a new documentary that follows four undocumented students who entered an underwater robotics competition in 2004 and beat MIT and other colleges. It was the type of machine only an engineer would describe as beautiful. That little clip we heard, you used an expletive because you were surprised at what was happening. He was probably the smartest 16-year-old in West Phoenixwithout even trying, he had one of the highest GPAs in the school district. 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. To his analytical mind, there was no possibility that his teama bunch of ESL studentscould produce a better written report than kids from one of the country's top engineering schools. He needs to get all the opportunity he deserves.. Their teachers sign them up to compete against colleges, rather than in the high school division, figuring they might as well lose big. When she was . They powered it up. >> Prosthetics for kids. But she couldn't because the rights had already been optioned. This was the engineering reviewprofessionals in underwater engineering evaluated all the ROVs, scored each team's technical documentation, and grilled students about their designs. MIT had admitted earlier that a laser would have been the most accurate way to measure distance underwater, but they'd concluded that it would have been difficult to implement. They returned to their seats, and Cameron and Ledge shook their hands. Then Merrill leaned into the microphone and said that the ROV named Stinky had captured the design award. The team represents what can be done to improve student's success in the area of STEM education in an inner-city school from a large metropolitan city. But PVC had benefits. "And Dr. Cameron and I will retire, too.". They step up without the kind of PowerPoint slides other teams have. >> The next generation of autonomous vehicles. The team arrived at the Olympic-size UC Santa Barbara pool on a sunny Thursday afternoon. And I thought we had done some great things when I was in high school and I thought we were on the right path, but life takes you on some not so interesting directions sometimes, especially in Arizona. The schools robotics club is thriving today, inspiring students to learn about science and technology. The unlikely national contest winners are also the subject of an upcoming Hollywood film starring George Lopez, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Marissa Tomei. (Sound on tape) The article, headlined "La Vida Robot," resulted in readers offering to donate money to help the students with college. After the engineering interview, they decided that they had probably placed somewhere in the middle of the pack, maybe fourth or fifth overall. Cristian quickly calculated the probability of winning but couldn't believe what he was coming up with. Now the duo is killing it on their fourth John Wickand still keeping technology in check. And thanks for coming back on the show. Editor's Notes:1. But Aranda now says he had residency papers by the time of the 2004 competition. >> MacGyver would be proud. Turned out that just about a year ago our contract wasn't renewed and we were kind of free agents and we went ahead and signed with her to do the documentary. Upon graduation, Vazquez decided to deport himself to Mexico, leaving his U.S. citizen wife and daughter behind in Arizona. As have their teachers, Faridodin Lajvardi and Allan Cameron. 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. Opening Friday at AMC Arizona Center 24, 565 N. 3rd St., Phoenix. Cameron and Ledge haven't taken Lorenzo to Hooters, nor have they retired. Cristian was beaming. Aranda, 28, also went to culinary school. On a lark, their teachers enter them into a sophisticated college marine robotics competition in Santa Barbara. He said it was "incredifying"incredible and terrifying at the same time. All six were in New Mexico in 2013 to meet Lopez and the cast of young actors playing their fictionalized characters. Companies are diving to the bottom to scoop up metals essential for our EV-driven future. They had to fit their long, quarter-inch-wide sampling tube into a half-inch pipe and then fill the balloon for exactly 20 seconds to get 500 milliliters. "You know," he said, "I think you can beat those guys from MIT. Arcega and Santillan, from the 2004 champion team, were on those teams as well, along with a rotating band of students. His brains and diminutive stature (5'4", 135 pounds) kept him apart at Carl Hayden. In 1965, the students were nearly all white, wearing blazers, ties, and long skirts. A sign reads: Carl Hayden Community High School: The Pride's Inside. And as I understand it, from talking to you earlier, this movie has been in the works for about that same period of time. Jos Crdenas: That's an excellent point. Daniel Emmet & Pia Toscano: Simply the Best, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs discusses issues facing state, Winston Marshall | Former Mumford and Sons Banjo Players Career & Political Stance, Bion Bartning | Pro-Human Approach to Addressing Racism, Batya Ungar-Sargon | Elitism in Journalism Poses Growing Danger to American Democracy, A new documentary explores wildlife throughout the state, Weekly Legislative session update continues, Positive parenting: See things through their eyes, Creative ways to celebrate Black history in STEM, Local arts center promotes and cultivates Latino artists, New report shows thriving GDP among Hispanics in Phoenix metro area, New program testing Phoenix firefighters to catch cancer early, Horizonte host Jose Cardenas stepping down, reflects on his career, Record number of Hispanics serving in Congress, AZ legislature, Domestic violence on the rise; Chicanos Por La Causa offers help, Analyzing Latino voting trends in 2022 midterms, ASU named Hispanic Serving Institution by Department of Education, Former AP editors new book tells stories of journalists killed in Mexico, Local activists new book documents recall efforts of Russell Pearce, aftermath of SB 1070, Chicanos Por La Causa efforts encourage people to vote, Fatty liver disease disproportionally affecting Latino youth; scientists unite to find the cause, Increasing Hispanic representation in education, Controversy surrounding the use of the term Latinx, Hispanic-owned businesses continue growth. Esto controls analog circuits with digital output.". The movie is called "Spare Parts" and it. Ever since his younger sister demanded her own room four years ago, Cristian Arcega had been living in a 30-square-foot plywood shed attached to the side of his parents' trailer. The out-of-control spread of crowd-control tech, The future of weight loss looks like its past, An inflammatory disease is hiding in plain sight, Rihanna pioneered a new kind of Super Bowl show, Bitcoin miners are playing a risky game of chicken, Explore AI like never before with our new database, Optimize your home life with our Gear teams best picks, from robot vacuums to affordable mattresses to smart speakers, 2023 Cond Nast. "You're very comfortable with the metric system," Swean observed. "Sure," Ledge said with a dismissive laugh. This summer, his team was preparing a robot to compete in an underwater competition. One broken wire would destroy the whole system, forcing them to withdraw from the contest. Cameron and Ledge, as the students called Lajvardi, formed the robotics group for kids like Cristian. Phoenix, Arizona 85004-1252, 602-496-8888 During one scene in "Underwater Dreams," the Carl Hayden team members head to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to meet with members of the 2004 team they defeated. 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. All four of the team members could have gained citizenship through the Dream Act, which died in Congress in 2010. On the other side of the neighborhood, Cristian lies on his bed and tries to picture the moisture in the clouds above. Every inch of PVC had a clear purpose. You have these kids who've accomplished so much. "Can we go to Hooters if we win?" Although he entered illegally at age 5, Aranda said, his father, a legal resident, filed for his wife and son to gain residency. Spare Parts is a 2015 drama film directed by Sean McNamara and produced by David Alpert, Rick Jacobs, Leslie Kolins Small, George Lopez, and Ben Odell.It is based on the Wired magazine article "La Vida Robot" (Robot Life) by Joshua Davis, about the true story of a group of students from a mainly Latino high school, who won the first place over M.I.T. Carl Hayden's enrollment is 2,209 students, over 93 percent of whom are Hispanic. Jos Crdenas: I understand ultimately it's a collaboration between her and Lions Gate. 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. The Carl Hayden High School Falcon Robotics team landed in Atlanta yesterday. As the community read for Hesston's First Year Experience program, the book is utilized as a course textbook and is the starting point for a variety of research activities. 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. And they win it all. She has always been interested in marine biology. Describe the individual resources that Cristian brings to this team, Last summer, Cristian's hopes flagged even further when his family was forced to spend $3,000 to replace the decrepit air-conditioning unit in their aluminum trailer. 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. Luis hefted the machine up and gently placed it in the water. The teamLorenzo Santillian, Christian Arcega, Oscar Vazquez and Luis Arrandafrom Arizona's Carl Hayden Community High School had little funding and no experience in similar contests, but . The Lie Detector Was Never Very Good at Telling the Truth. He eyed their rudimentary flip chart. "There are millions of kids just like these kids all over America," she said. The four teenagers who built it are all undocumented Mexican immigrants who came to this country through tunnels or hidden in the backseats of cars. A set of high-powered fans blew across the surface of the pool, obscuring the view below and forcing teams to navigate by instrumentation alone. A leak could take the whole system down. Luis attached Szwankowski's thermometer and quickly lowered the ROV back into the water. Through the process of building a catapult and then a robot which they present at the 2004 MATE underwater robotics competition, the Carl Hayden team learns that through the power of. When they reached the submarine, they saw the drum and tried to steady the robot. Dch trong bi cnh "MY TRNG" trong ting vit-ting anh. Now that they were focused on the mission, both pilots relaxed and made almost imperceptibly small movements with their joysticks. Oscar sketched out the situation. So, it didn't make a difference if I beat a college or university, I didn't know who they were. WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. Carl Hayden's Falcon Robotics team returned to the underwater robot competition in 2005 and 2006. Because he was undocumentedhis parents had brought him to the US from Mexico when he was 12he couldn't join, wouldn't get any scholarships, and had to start figuring out what else to do with his life. What does this have to do with Blue ROV? >> They were a rag tag robotics team. Vazquez met Chelsea Clinton before a screening at a Clinton Global Initiative event in Colorado. Maybe she thought he was trying to sell magazines or candy bars, but he steeled himself. He introduced his teammates: Cristian, the brainiac; Lorenzo, the vato loco who had a surprising aptitude for mechanics; and 18-year-old Luis Aranda, the fourth member of the crew. When Oscar gets home from work that night, he watches the gypsum dust swirl down the sink drain when he washes his hands. "PowerPoint is a distraction," Cristian replied. I didnt have the money to stay in school, he said. It was a short celebration. Fredi Lajvardi: Yeah, I mean, talent can be found anywhere. Using five small electric trolling motors, the robot could spin and tilt in any direction. MIT's robot was supposed to land on the container, create a seal, and pump out the fluid. Fredi Lajvardi: It wasn't as hard as you think. It seemed obvious that this was a condescending pat on the back, as if to say, "A for effort!" When Stinky entered the water, it careened wildly as it dived toward the bottom. "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. >> Who are these punks from nowhere that had no business doing what they do? ", Santillan, who has been involved in immigration activism, has seen the legacy of his team how it has lifted up the expectations of students in the neighborhood. George Lopez movie about Carl Hayden robotics team premieres in Phoenix: Jan. 6: Cmswire.com Segway Inventor Dean Kamen: Science Isn't a Spectator Sport : Jan. 3: They were born in Mexico but raised in. >> The other robots were like pieces of underwater jewelry. It has changed the culture of our school and the dreams of our students. >> Knowing you can't do something just because you're lacking a piece of paper is kind of devastating. Cameron was the computer science teacher sponsoring Carl Hayden's robotics program. and a major motion pictureIn 2004, four Latino teenagers arrived at the Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He spends his summers driving a recreational vehicle across cooler parts of the country. 16 years later Catch up with the cast of 'The O.C.' to mark 16 years since the beloved teen drama ended Over the past few weeks, one or more of the group has attended screenings of "Underwater Dreams" before prestigious audiences. They have equipped it with propellers, cameras, lights, a laser, depth detectors, pumps, an underwater microphone, and an articulated pincer. And also Monday, it will be broadcast by Mun2. Yet the unlikely victory did not lead to a successful or lucrative future in the tech and science world for these students, mainly because they were constrained by their immigration status. LORENZO On three test runs in Boston, the system worked fast and flawlessly. They hope to see all four kids go to college before they quit teaching, which means they're likely to keep working for a long time. Now they had 30 minutes total to complete all seven tasks on the checklist. He, his wife and two children are moving to Glendive, Montana. Lorenzo Santillan: I think I didn't know how to feel because at the same time, we beat MIT and we beat all the top really high-caliber colleges and universities, but at the same time, I was probably -- I didn't know who they were. Instead, he said he is mostly trying to get by., Lorenzo Santillan is working as a line cook and in catering. Fredi Lajvardi: Well, this movie, which is called "Spare Parts," is being produced by Lions Gate and Pantelion. Contact [emailprotected]. Lorenzo held the wires in place while Oscar lowered the soldering gun. Later, the teachers told me who MIT was and all the other colleges that we had just beat. 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. After the victory, Lajvardi calls his wife to tell her. The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. They were the same classes many students, who weren't legal residents, ended up taking. Just for the hell of it. And don't forget, if you want to watch previous episodes or find out what's coming up on the show just go our website azpbs.org and click on "Horizonte." Once we figure out how to drive it, we'll be the fastest team there.". The district sent out a press release about the victory. The next year, the competition moved to Canada. He looked at Lorenzo, who had already activated the pump and was counting out 20 seconds in a decidedly unscientific way. And Luis Aranda, the . "It's all about capacity and ability and not having old stereotypes about where you find innovation and capability and really smart, aspirational kids.". He imagined that the puddles were oceans and that the underwater robot he was building at school can explore them. Lorenzo painted it garish shades of blue, red, and yellow to designate the functionality of specific pipes. A feature film based on the story, starring comedian George Lopez, is scheduled for release in January, Filming on "Spare Parts," wrapped up in New Mexico late last year, He was one of three students singled out at his college graduation, receiving applause from the crowd in the stadium and that year's commencement speaker, President Barack Obama, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. In the lobby outside the review room, Cameron and Ledge waited anxiously for the kids. >> Discover, like, alien life. Cristian Arcega:Graduate, Carl Hayden High School; Lorenzo Santillan:Graduate, Carl Hayden High School; Fredi Lajvardi:Team Coach, Carl Hayden Robotics Team; Sounds of Cultura (SOC): Antonio Berni: Juanito and Ramona, 555 North Central Avenue, Suite 500 This thing's got power. Since the competition required that their bot run through a series of seven exploration tasksfrom taking depth measurements to locating and retrieving acoustic pingersmobility was key. He wanted to soak up the water with tampons but didn't know which ones to buy. Santillan received deferred action in 2012. They couldn't have done that well. On West Roosevelt Avenue, security guards, two squad cars, and a handful of cops watch teenagers file into the local high school. For further information, contact the Carl Hayden High School robotics team adviser Allan Cameron at: . Lorenzo Santillan was a former gang member himself looking to stay clean. Carl Hayden High School Award Winning Robotics Team June 13, 2018 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm We are pleased to have as this month's presenter Fredi Lajvardi, a faculty member at Carl Hayden High School. Arcega worked at Home Depot for a while and is looking for another job. Lisa Bonet is best known for starring in the hugely successful TV series The Cosby Show, in which she played Denise Huxtable. "I can't let that get to me," Arcega said, "because that's always going to be an uphill battle with everything.". "Vmonos, Cristian, this is it!" It still unnerved him to see so much water. The control tent was silent. There's a movie that's in the works right now and tell us about that. Eye trauma. Broken bones. >> Make them go faster. His brains and diminutive stature (5'4", 135 pounds) kept him apart at Carl Hayden. She doesn't believe him. Cameron glanced nervously at Ledge. ", Lorenzo threw his arms into the air, looked at Ledge, and silently mouthed the word "Hooters.". Now it just looked clownish. I don't want to tell too much about the movie, but it's real exciting because we actually, our current robotics team got to build and operate all the robots for the movie, the underwater robots. >> It wasn't about building a robot. Born in Mexico, raised in Phoenix in impoverished homes, under constant threat of deportation, four undocumented students from Carl Hayden High School entered the 2004 Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition. What do you tell the kids that come after them? Paranoid conspiracies. He looked at each team member pointedly. Cristian Arcega and Lorenzo Santilln, two of four former Phoenix, Arizona high school students whose robotic team beat MIT and other prestigious universities in a 2004 national NASA competition. Do you want to be deported as a landscaper, a garbage collector or an engineer? We had to sit down and walk on the beach and soak it in for a little bit. The Center for American Progress and the Partnership for a New American Economy has found that giving legal status to Dreamers will add $329 billion to our economy and . If you think about it, you think the kids won't continue because they saw what happened to them. Stinky hovered in front of the submarine framing that had frustrated the MIT team. "I think we've persuaded people to think higher for themselves and go get a higher education," he said. But dropped out when the lessons moved from the kitchen to the classroom. He saw apprehension flash across her face. Even though she's clearly active in the entertainment biz, she's nowhere close to being the teen idol she once was. Most of the other teams wouldn't even consider putting their power supplies in the water. He didn't want to go to jail. Cristian was from Mexicali, but he'd left Mexico in the back of a station wagon when he was 6. She handed him a box of O.B.