Orange, CA – May 11, 2018 - El Modena High School’s Robotics 1 students, the Vanguard-a-trons, attended the Synergy Battle Bots competition this past Tuesday and brought home both a bronze and gold medal.

Paired into teams, students were required to build and program robots to go head-to-head with those built by teams from schools across Orange County. Winning robots were those able to disable or push their opponent out of the battle area first.

In the opening event, sophomore Jacob Rodriguez and junior Luis Aguilar placed third and received the bronze medal.

Junior Alejandra Hernandez received the gold medal after placing first at the closing event, the Bot Battle Royal.

“My students are amazing,” stated Robotics and Computer Science teacher Chris Warrior. “They understand that it's never about winning or losing, it's about the process. Try everything, test your ideas, embrace failure, improve your process, and repeat until you reach your goal.”

“Mr. Warrior’s classes are amazing in the way they encourage student creativity,” said Principal Dustin Saxton, Ed.S. “I’m so proud of our robotics students and their teacher.”

The Battle Bot competition was coordinated by Think Together and held as part of the Citrix Synergy technology conference and networking event at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Think Together is a locally based non-profit group that encourages students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.