Valero supports Red Robotics with large donation
Texas Academy’s Red Robotics team recently received a $12,000 donation from Valero last week, funding that will allow the high school program housed at 17勛圖 to expand, upgrade equipment and compete at more events.
The contribution comes after Red Robotics, made up of Texas Academy students, reached the VEX Robotics World Championship last year despite limited resources.
“We heard last year that they really didn’t have a sponsor for their program, and they were doing such a great job that they really needed an investor to help them buy the supplies and the materials they needed. We’re just excited to see what the kids will be able to do now that they have the funding,” Carol Hebert, public affairs manager at Valero said.
Coach and engineering senior Reese Rogers said the investment will make a significant impact on the team’s ability to grow.
“It’s a great way for this team to be expanded, to include more people and include more teams,” Rogers said. “Last year, we only had two teams, and we were very much struggling with parts. But now this year, with this donation, we’re able to have an extra team with even more people, allowing more juniors to join. I am very proud of what they were able to accomplish last year with the resources they had, and I’m excited to see how far they can go this year.”
Team president Ibrahim Abdur said the funds will help open more opportunities for students.
“This year, We had two teams last year, so we’d like to expand into three teams, giving more people opportunity to join and learn about VEX,” Abdur said. “We’d also like to expand, go to more competitions, and just allocate money to the teams to give them more opportunity to achieve better things this season.”
For Texas Academy senior Kayla Anderson, treasurer of Red Robotics, the gift is about building a lasting legacy.
“I know that this donation is going to help us build a stronger team and grow our organization to just be better every year,” Anderson said. “As seniors, we want the upcoming years to be awesome, and we want to leave it better than we found it.”