Pharr, Texas – Today was the end of another great FIRST Lego League – Animal Allies robotics camp. Students had the opportunity to show their project (modified due to time) to special guests from

the City of Pharr Innovation & Technology department. These professionals came by during their lunch hour and talked with the students about their mission and helped mentor them in the final competition day.

Pharr Police Chief Ruben Villescas stopped by for a visit today at the Pharr Robotics Lab. He took time out of his very busy day to talk with the students as they finished their presentations about the importance of family, working together, reminding them to say no to drugs and emphasizing the importance of being ready for a fast paced STEM environment
when they graduate.  Chief Villescas continued to explain that in his 31 years of law enforcement, he has seen a lot of new technology that has helped solve crimes, engage with the community over social media and help them be more efficient.

Today, marked the end to another great week of STEM education with lots of the students remaining late to ask more questions about the upcoming competition season, talk about technology and spend time doing some console gaming with the staff from the city.

We appreciate the continued support of Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, MD and the Pharr City Commission for the FIRST Robotics program that has grown from a mere 23 teams to more than 200 in just two years.

“FIRST works” is a common slogan used in presentations by the FIRST-RGV executives and …. it does.

FIRST-RGV chief executive officer Jason Arms was on hand today handing out certificates to the students and talking with them about the impact of FIRST along with Milly Hernandez, FIRST-RGVs chief operations officer.  This is why we volunteer our time they both said in unison when asked “How did today go?” These kids are the future and will be the leaders of tomorrow, Arms added.

FIRST-RGV is the programs coordinator in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) for US FIRST; which is a non profit in more than 66 countries around the world that offers more than 20 million dollars a year in scholarships for its alumni. For more information about scholarships, visit http://firstinspires.org/scholarships