The MakerSpace buzzes with energy as students gather around laptops, power tools, and sketches. Some are coding late into the afternoon, while others plan outreach projects or refine their designs for upcoming competitions. Moving from team to team, offering encouragement and advice, is Ms. Sarah Carvajal, the primary sponsor and one of the coaches behind Westwood Robotics’ FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) and FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC) programs, along with teaching the Robotics class. For Ms. Carvajal, robotics has always been about more than building machines; it’s about building people.

Now in her fifth year as an educator, Ms. Carvajal’s journey to teaching wasn’t linear;  She grew up in the Rio Grande Valley in deep South Texas, graduating from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in chemistry. In high school, she was involved in a plethora of extracurriculars, from band and yearbook to student council, diving into activities reflecting her love of student life.

“I did a lot of different things as a student, and I think that’s why, as a teacher, I also get very involved,” Ms. Carvajal said. “I love being part of what students are doing outside the classroom. It’s such a huge part of their growth.”

She began her career teaching science before moving on to engineering and robotics. While she never competed in robotics herself, she quickly found her passion for FIRST through coaching. FIRST is a global nonprofit that uses robotics competitions, namely FRC and FTC, to inspire young people to explore science, technology, engineering, and math while emphasizing soft skills such as teamwork, leadership, and community impact. 

“It gives people that open space to bring a bunch of different skills into one club, which is why I love it, because there’s so many different parts of it,” Ms. Carvajal said.

“My last team came from a really small private school,” Ms. Carvajal said. “Here, we have more students in robotics than I had in the entire school where I came from. It’s a big difference, and it’s been exciting to see what a larger team can do.”

Through the large scale of Westwood Robotics, Ms. Carvajal has been able to witness aspects of robotics that were harder to achieve at her former school, such as extensive outreach projects and wider student participation. 

“At my last school, we weren’t able to engage in outreach as much as I wanted because our team was so small,” Ms. Carvajal said. “Seeing what Westwood students are doing now has been really exciting, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.” 

Ms. Carvajal sponsors two types of FIRST programs at Westwood. FTC teams design and build smaller robots to complete specific tasks on a 12-by-12-foot playing field, often requiring creative problem-solving in both mechanics and coding. FRC, on the other hand, has bigger high school teams who build 120-pound robots to play large-scale games on fields the size of a basketball court. Both programs challenge students to think like engineers, collaborate under pressure, and present their work to judges and peers. Although there are many rewarding aspects of robotics, Ms. Carvajal is most drawn to the unique atmosphere that FIRST creates. 

“Honestly, I love the atmosphere, especially of FIRST,” Ms. Carvajal said. “It’s not really just about building robots and competing. It’s about building leaders and people who are giving back to their community, and creating well-rounded individuals who can carry those skills into whatever they choose to do.”

To Ms. Carvajal, part of what makes robotics so special is that there’s a place for everyone. In FIRST, there’s multiple ways for a team to succeed. From designing the robot to educating young minds about engineering, FIRST rewards both creativity and community.

“You don’t have to know how to code or build,” Ms. Carvajal said. “We have an outreach side, we have students who are business-oriented, and we welcome so many different skills into one team. That’s why I love it — because it brings together such a diverse group of students and talents.”

Looking ahead, Ms. Carvajal balances both competitive and personal goals for the year. On the competitive side, she hopes to see the FRC team qualify for Worlds and to have multiple FTC teams reach the international stage, building on last year’s success. Beyond trophies and rankings, however, Ms. Carvajal’s broader mission is centered around student growth.

“Overall, I want to build students who are well-rounded and have empathy for their community,” Ms Carvajal said. “I want them to learn how to collaborate and work with people they don’t always agree with. In the real world, that’s an essential skill, and robotics gives them that experience.”

“This organization is fun, and I want them to remember that,” Ms. Carvajal said. “As competition season gets closer, stress rises and tensions run high, but at the end of the day, it’s not just about a trophy. It’s about building experiences, building skills, and remembering why they’re here.”

She also hopes the broader school community sees the full picture of what robotics offers. 

“To the school, I want them to know that this program is so much more than just robots,” Ms. Carvajal said. “Yes, it’s big and can seem a little crazy at times, but behind that is teamwork, outreach, and learning. I really want people to see how multifaceted it is.”

With her mix of enthusiasm, experience, and vision, Ms. Carvajal has helped transform the widely successful robotics program into a space where students not only prepare for competition, but also for future challenges. To her, the program isn’t just a club: it’s a family, one where every student has a place and a purpose. 

“I want this school to also know that [this club], while it is big and you see its craziness, everything that we’re doing here [is] so much more than the robot,” Ms. Carvajal.