Led by Jennifer Garza, Carterbots hold on to a first-place ranking throughout much of the championship seizing a second place win and maintaining first place in the overall ranking.

This school year marks the inauguration of a robotics UIL team at Jimmy Carter and through trial and tribulation the team comprised of three students managed an impressive feat for first time participants.

Captain: Franco Cada

Designer: Eliseo Reyes

Programmer: Oscar Peña

While learning and figuring out the hijinks of not only building a competition robot but also programming to run independently of a remote driver the team was steadfast in their dedication and perseverance.

The U.I.L event helps the students learn to not crack under pressure and to keep trying no matter the outcome.

“Very simple advice stay calm and enjoy the frustration and pain. Remember this, almost every robot is going to loose, but every single student wins because what you take away from this program will help you define what your future is,” said Dean L. Kamen, FIRST Co-founder.

Saturday, February 8 marked a culmination of this season’s efforts during which the Carterbots faced off in an all day events. At registration time the team surrendered their engineering notebook which chronicled their adventures and implementation.

Advancing from this championship takes the team to the South Championship to be held on February 16.

Ivan Silva serves as the advisor for RedGold News Student Publications, where he mentors student journalists and oversees all aspects of the publication. In addition to his work with RGN, Silva teaches Dual Enrollment courses in Speech Communication and Interpersonal Communication, helping students bridge the gap between high school and college-level academics.

He is also an adjunct instructor at South Texas College (STC), where he brings his expertise in communication studies into higher education classrooms. On campus, Silva is actively involved as the UIL Coordinator and UIL Journalism Coach, guiding students to success in academic competitions at the district, regional, and state levels.

Through his combined roles as Journalism Advisor, RGN Advisor, and educator, Silva is dedicated to fostering student voice, leadership, and excellence in communication, both in print and beyond.