Breaking Barriers: Pittsburgh Teenagers to Showcase STEM Skills on Global Stage at FIRST Robotics World Championship

Pine-Richland High School students Ryan Scott, Piya Dargan, and Keerthana Visveish are set to compete at the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston, Texas from April 17-20. As members of the BrainSTEM Learning Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team, they will showcase their skills on a global stage.

The team’s mission is to break down barriers that hinder children’s potential through outreach initiatives. Over the past few years, they have organized over 100 events aimed at addressing obstacles such as geography, health, or socioeconomic status. Their efforts include creating STEM activity kits for the Ronald McDonald House, fundraising for humanitarian efforts in Haiti, establishing robotics teams in Central America, and creating a STEM career pathway for students in Allegheny Public Housing.

Their commitment to outreach has paid off as they won the Regional Engineering Inspiration Award at the Greater Pittsburgh Regional event in March. This award recognized them as the team that inspired the most students through engineering and STEM. Additionally, their success continued at the Miami Valley Regional event in Cincinnati in April where they earned the Regional FIRST Impact Award, securing their spot at the World Championship.

At the World Championship, Ryan Scott shared that his role as business and outreach lead has evolved over time to focus more on building relationships with sponsors and partners rather than programming or engineering. He also emphasized how important it is to have a diverse team with different skill sets to create innovative solutions that can make a positive impact on society.

The FIRST Robotics World Championship is part of an international youth organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), which promotes STEM education and innovation among students worldwide.