All-Girls Team Inspires at Robotics Competition

Video Credit: Nic Roy, Joseph Foulk

Middle school and high school students brought their A-game to Oakland recently to compete in the FIRST Robotics Western Regional championship.

The Marlbots, an all-girls team from Marlborough High School in Los Angeles, competed against 72 teams from across the western U.S. For the Marlbots, competing in Oakland was more than just a robotics competition. They hoped to inspire girls to participate in STEM (science, technology, engineering or math) by sharing their love of robotics and 3-D printing.

Edison International supported the FIRST robotics competition with a contribution of $50,000 to help build awareness of the rewarding STEM careers available in the electric power industry.

Ana Hafiz, a Southern California Edison engineer, was on-hand to assist each team at a robot doctor station when they ran into problems. She participated as a featured speaker during the opening ceremonies.

Although the Marlbots were unable to advance to the world championship this April, the Charging Champions — a team from Irvine that received a $5,000 team grant from Edison International — narrowly beat out the competition and moved on.