News & Events

  • Congratulations Amy Eppert! -Pinnacle Scholarship Winner-

    AmmyEppertAmy Eppert, Hilltop High School student recently awarded with Athena San Diego Pinnacle Award.

    Amy’s school activities have included vice president of the Robotics Club to student leader of the Imperial Beach Reef Project. She also co-created and co-taught a STEM course for incoming freshman, and created and taught an after school program called “Math Buddies” for elementary school students. She was also a member of the Academic Decathlon team. Amy plays the Celtic harp for hospice care, autistic and Down syndrome children, and Alzheimer’s patients. Amy plans to major in biology and minor in computational science and Point Loma Nazarene University and continue on to earn a PhD from UCSD.

    Congratulations Amy!

    Athena San Diego supports the next generation of women leaders in science and technology through its annual Pinnacle Scholarships. These merit-based scholarships are awarded to five (5) qualified graduating high school senior women in the San Diego County and are presented at our annual Pinnacle Awards dinner in the spring.ACFD334

    Athena San Diego’s Pinnacle Awards recognize extraordinary women, men, companies/organizations and educators who personify Athena San Diego’s mission of fostering the personal and professional growth of women through mentoring, education, recognition, and leadership training thereby enhancing competitiveness and opportunity for women in the San Diego business community.

    You can learn more about Athena San Diego HERE.

  • SUHi students Place 1st at Robot Programming Competition @ SDCC

    alderan robot 3On Saturday, May 14th, 19 high school teams competed in a regional Robot Programming Competition at San Diego City College.

    Sweetwater Union High School District students were there!

    Castle Park High School

    Team name: TrojanBots

    Students: Emmanuel Hidalgo & Joe Miranda

    Team: Trojanators

    Students: Tomas Mendoza & David Jackson

    Sweetwater High School

    Team name: 6619X

    Students: Antoine Serrano & Cristian EspitiaDSC_0086

    Students eagerly approached their assigned stations, reviewed the competition’s instructions and judging criteria, and began playing with the software; Choregraphe.  Dean Rose LaMuraglia of San Diego City College’s School of Business, Information Technology and Cosmetology kicked off the event with a presentation on careers in technology, aiming to inspire this next generation of programmers. She concluded her presentation with a demonstration in which Patrick, the Nao Robot, spoke to the students and danced to Michael Jackson’s, “Thriller.”DSC_0087

    Students participated in a brief tutorial and received instruction on the software then teams were tasked with a series of challenges: they had to program the robot to creatively introduce their teams to an audience, to dance along to popular music, and to most importantly, have fun and learn!  The teams dedicated 2 hours and 30 minutes to programming Patrick (Nao Robot).

    DSC_0094
    Antoine Serrano, Nao Robot (Patrick), and Christian Espitia (1st Place)

    Sweetwater High School’s students Antoine Serrano and Cristian Espitia
     placed first. They programmed Patrick (Nao Robot) to perform the “whip” and “nae nae.”

    Congratulations Antoine & Cristian!

    DSC_0057The judges assessed students based on a defined set of criteria: the use of fluid dance movements, complexity of the dance sequence, the entertainment factor, and the ability of the students to take into consideration Patrick’s limitations when programming him.

    DSC_0088Emmanuel Hidalgo from Castle Park High School won a raffled gaming console.

    All of the students walked away with SeaWorld passes, Xbox music passes donated by The Microsoft Store, Otterbox cell phone cases donated by the OtterCares Foundation, and Rubio’s gift cards.

    Congratulations to all participating Students!

  • Hayley Salazar (ORHS) AFA San Diego Teacher of the Year

    AFA logoAir Force Association (AFA) San Diego Chapter 118

    Hayley Salazar (ORHS) science teacher was recently named 2016 AFA San Diego Chapter 118 Teacher of the Year! 

    The announcement was made by Gene Alfaro, Vice President for Aerospace Education,  San Diego Chapter 118 of the Air Force Association indicating that Ms. Salazar’s credentials as a STEM teacher  supports the STEM goals of the Air Force Association.

    HayleySalazarMs. Salazar is recognized by implementing a dynamic award winning robotics program at Otay Ranch High School, instilling the values of “gracious professionalism” and “co-opertition” into the hearts of her team members, and for taking a leadership role in the expansion of the robotics program in the SUHSD and in the county of San Diego.

    Congratulations Ms. Salazar!

    Videos:

    Join The Stampede

    VEX Robotics by Mustang Robotics