For Terrell High School juniors, Ricardo “Ricky” Herrera, Nathan Clements, and Jesus “Xavi” Salazar, building a robot may consist of only metal and wires, but for this team it represents months of hard work and determination.
For the past two years the team - known as XPLODE - has worked together and leveraged their unique strengths. Ricky focuses on coding and the creative side, Xavi leads the building and design process, and Nathan is the driver who studies strategies and competes under pressure.
Each of the students shared that they joined robotics because of their passion for building, engineering, creativity, and competition. And speaking of competitions, their focus is now on the World Championship where they will compete against 800 teams in St. Louis, Missouri this summer.
Since the summer of 2025, they have spent 20-40 hours each week building and improving their robot, finishing it in February after months of testing and redesigning.
Now that they are heading to the World Championship, Nathan is excited to meet people from around the world, Ricky is looking forward to showcasing their hard work on a global level, and Xavi is ready to make memories with his teammates.
While competitions can be intense, the boys also say they are a lot of fun. Their robotics teacher, Mr. Bill Socha, explained, “The nature of competition qualifying matches is that teams are randomly paired, often with very different skill levels. They can go through an entire competition with different partners, which helps prepare them for every possibility.”
The boys shared that their main goal is to win an award and make Terrell High School history. “To win or even place would mean everything because of the time, effort, and dedication we’ve put into our robot all year,” Nathan shared.
Robotics has taught them many life lessons — communication, leadership, perseverance, and learning from mistakes. As Ricky put it best, “Don’t hold onto a mistake just because it took you a long time to make.”