It was finally the day. After 10 weeks of programming and building, the robots were ready to show what they could do. The elementary and middle school children who built them held their breaths, eager to see if their efforts would succeed. Family members sat on the sidelines, frozen in anticipation.
Then one robot jolted to life, and the crowd of roughly 50 people at The Latina Center in Richmond erupted in cheers. Parents, grandparents and siblings celebrated every robot’s move, even if it wasn’t their child’s.
The students first maneuvered their robots across the floor, showing off their dexterity and design. Then, small teams of students competed to see whose remote-controlled robot could move blocks out of a box the fastest.
“The first time I saw my robot move it was so incredible,” Monica Rodriguez, a sixth-grader at Lincoln Elementary, told Richmondside. “I never coded a robot before, ever in my life…It was so great to see something you built, move.”
Rodriguez was one of 20 students in the first cohort of the Future Latin Tech program, a new, free robotics class designed for youths ages 11 to 15. Run by The Latina Center, a local nonprofit in Richmond that supports Latino families, the initiative aims to introduce students to coding, engineering and teamwork in a culturally grounded space.
Rodriguez said her mom, a regular at The Latina Center, signed her up not only for the coding skills, but also to meet new people and learn how to work with others.
“At first, I thought it would be so hard, but it’s actually not with the right people. You can build lots of things and, like, create new stuff,” Rodriguez said. “And the whole thing was incredible because we also got snacks, delicious pizza.”
Rodriguez’s teammate Itzel Castro said although she was older than some of the other participants, she felt like she was able to make lasting friendships. The eighth-grader at Making Waves Academy in Richmond already has her sights set on becoming a nurse.
“I know nurses use a lot of technology, so I felt it’s going to be a good opportunity, and it was,” Castro said.
Castro said she was surprised to see her robot move. Though she had taken a coding class before, this was a unique challenge because students had to manually build and program the robots, as opposed to creating a code online.
“There’s a lot of these pieces that are really similar, and you really have to focus on which ones you’re putting because it’s really easy to mess up,” Castro said. “Me and my team have messed up a good amount of times, but it was good because doing mistakes is part of learning, which makes you be a better thinker.”
Castro and her friends also noted that learning coding and programming skills is particularly useful for girls because it gives them more confidence and opportunities professionally.
“Most people only think about the girls or women cleaning, cooking or just staying at home,” Castro said. (While learning to cook is good, it is) also bad, because they don’t have a career (or follow) their dreams.”
At the recent Saturday competition Spanish was exclusively spoken. Miriam Wong, founder and executive director of The Latina Center, said that was by design.
“First of all, if they (the youths) are bilingual, it’s better,” Wong said. “But also for the parents. Every immigrant, including myself, when we first come to this country, we lose that feeling of security, or being home and here they can speak their language and find their community and make friends over generations.”
Latina Center began as a support system for domestic violence survivors
The Latina Center was founded to support domestic violence survivors. Over 25 years, it became a place where those survivors felt empowered to create new programs. The center offers parenting classes, mental health support for Latinas and families who have limited or no access to health care, legal and immigration support as well as a myriad of leadership and technical programs for all ages.
Wong, who immigrated to the United States from Peru, said it has been beautiful to see it grow over the years, emphasizing that when communities come together to uplift one another, great ideas are born.
The Future Latin Tech program was funded by a grant from the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth. The center created the program with help from Fundación Global Arte Ciencia y Tecnología, an organization with more than 18 years of experience in educational robotics.
“This is a dream come true, especially for me, because I listen to the parents, what is going on and the atrocities in this country. We know and we understand our youth are having less opportunities, especially Latinos,” Wong said. “Technology is the future of the world, and we are at a disadvantage, so we have to introduce (those skills) to our kids.”
She said when the first cohort of 20 children came into the room on March 22, they were shy and nervous, hiding behind their hoodies. But over the course of the program, their confidence grew.
“It was like ‘wow’ these kids are smart, and they are seeing it. And seeing the parents today, that was a great support for them,” Wong said. “And the parents, many of them we know and know what they went through, for them, they say ‘I can see a future for my kids.’ ”
Ines Ambrocio Garcia told Richmondside she was incredibly proud to see her son build a robot and see what he could accomplish, and she is grateful he had the opportunity. Her children translated for her from Spanish to English.
“It’s an opportunity that is really big for my kids, because it gives them a chance in life to have a different lifestyle than ours,” Garcia said in Spanish. “And it lets them just experiment and try new things.”
Her son Lester Ambrocio Garcia, an eighth-grader at Summit Tamalpais, said he’s been interested in technology and coding for as long as he can remember. He took different coding classes, but this experience was unique and rewarding.
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“I think it’s a great opportunity that they’re focusing on Latinos, because it gives us a place to shine and say that we’re not the shadows of other people.”
— Lester Ambrocio Garcia, robotics class student
“It was complicated, because it was the first time I’ve ever done anything like it, and really fun meeting people and experiencing something new,” Lester Ambrocio Garcia said. “And I think it’s a great opportunity that they’re focusing on Latinos, because it gives us a place to shine and say that we’re not the shadows of other people and like we all deserve an opportunity, no matter where we come from.”
The robotics program will run for three years. This summer, two more cohorts will go through the training. Parents who are interested in it can get more information here.
