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Students Master Robotics, Beat Odds

Four high school kids from western Phoenix and an underwater robot named Stinky beat out the nation's brightest students (including a team from M.I.T) in the 2004 Marine Advanced Technology Education Center Remotely Operated Vehicle Competition. It's a boost to their college hopes, which had been far from a sure thing due to financial disadvantages.

The journey of the Carl Hayden High School team is chronicled in Wired magazine and raises issues surrounding college funding for the children of immigrants. Susan Stamberg talks to two of the members, Cristian Arcega and Lorenzo Santillan. We also hear from their computer science teacher, Allan Cameron.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Nationally renowned broadcast journalist Susan Stamberg is a special correspondent for NPR.
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