The award-winning robotics club at Sgt. Jose F. Carrasco Elementary School is gearing up to put its robots to the test following a remarkable 2025-26 season.
The team, known as GALACTONS 5.0, capped off a successful year by earning the prestigious DaVinci Award at the Destination Imagination (DI) Global Finals in Kansas City, Missouri, in May. Now, the students are preparing for their next challenge as they continue to showcase their skills in robotics, engineering and teamwork.
“I truly cannot say enough about these remarkable scholars. They are an extraordinary group of students who did not simply show up; they rose to every challenge and exceeded expectations,” said Patricia Velarde, a fourth-grade teacher and the robotics and Destination Imagination team coach.
The GALACTONS, who advanced to the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) State Competition last year, are busy preparing for this year's robotics competitions, beginning with ROBOCOM. This annual event, organized by the Socorro Independent School District, challenges fourth- to eighth-grade students across the district to build interactive robots using LEGOs. Last year, the GALACTONS won the competition's top prize, the Inspire Award, and advanced to the West Texas FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Championship at the University of Texas at El Paso in January, where they qualified for the state competition in the spring.
Following their success at the state level, they excelled in the Destination Imagination (DI) competition. This global nonprofit educational program supports students from kindergarten through university in developing essential life and career skills through hands-on, team-based challenges in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics).
Participating in the FLL competition helped participants refine their engineering and technical skills and prepare for the DI event.
“Participating in the FIRST LEGO League competition helped me develop skills for DI because it helped me be confident and not shy, which I need for DI,” said Ivana Soto, a fifth grader and member of the GALACTONS.
The team qualified for the DI Global Finals by advancing through the Texas DI state tournament.
Velarde credited the team's success to their strong collaboration and mutual support, especially after a team member withdrew just two weeks before the finals. Rather than being discouraged, they came together to make the necessary adjustments.
“They faced adversity with maturity, determination, and unwavering teamwork. Watching them support one another and rise above that challenge was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had as an educator,” Velarde said.
According to Velarde, the GALACTONS were only the second team from El Paso since 2003 to win an award at the DI Global Finals. They received the Davinci Award in recognition of their exceptional creativity and unique problem-solving approaches.
Velarde said she was incredibly proud of her students and their accomplishments, and she is excited to see what they will accomplish next. Ivana Soto hopes to repeat last year's success.
“I hope we advance to the DI Global Finals again because I found it so fun and educational,” Soto said.