Concord: PG&E Surprises FIRST Robotics Team with Donation for Robot Trailer

By Tracy Correa Lopez and Tamar Sarkissian

The FIRST Robotics team at Ygnacio Valley High School may not have everything teams from more affluent schools have, but they definitely have heart. And soon, they will have one thing they had been lacking: a trailer in which to transport their robots.

PG&E officials surprised the team, called Project 212, with a $10,000 check to be used to buy a robot trailer. The team has had to make do transporting their robot creations in smaller, often cramped vehicles, to and from competitions, which has been tricky.

The surprise contribution came during the school’s annual Meet the Team event on Wednesday (Dec. 6) evening, where parents, school officials, community members and team sponsors were all present to see and talk to the students.

“Oh my God, this is such a big help for the team, because we wanted a trailer for a long time,” said engineering teacher Joseph Alvarico, who is also the team’s coach.

Ygnacio Valley High School is a Title 1 school, a federal designation applied to schools that support predominantly low-income students. The school’s FIRST Robotics team is relatively new, launched in 2018 at the urging of eager students who wanted to build and compete. FIRST is a global robotics community preparing young people to be future STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology and Math) leaders.

Alvarico said the trailer, as much as it’s a huge help for the team, is also going to help Project 212 inspire younger students in the community.

“We’re not just going to be hauling our robots and our tools to competition,” he said. “Our big plan, because we do a lot of outreach also, our big plan is to actually make a mobile STEM lab,” he said.

That mobile STEM lab will allow the older students to share not only their robots, but also things like drones and other technology with students in middle and elementary schools.

“You know we learn about STEM at an early age,” said Alvarico. “I think this is what our community really needs.”

PG&E has supported the team along the way, the recent contribution is a continuation of that support.

“PG&E is really committed to the advancement of our youth, investing in our future and ensuring they have access to be leaders and innovators in science and technology,” said Mónica Tell, a PG&E regional senior manager, who presented the gift to the team. 

“There was a lot of excitement here, seeing the parents, seeing the students, seeing the robots that these students get to create. And funding from PG&E will help advance that, and it will also help promote STEM education in underserved communities, Title 1 schools and support our future,” she added.

The PG&E Corporation Foundation contributed $150,000 in grants this year to support FIRST Robotics in Northern and Central California, and The Poppe Foundation’s Dream Maker Fund provided another $100,000, for a combined total of $250,000. Funding will support FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge teams and programs, as well as important safety programming throughout the FIRST Robotics season. PG&E (Utility) contributed last week’s $10,000 grant for Ygnacio Valley High School’s trailer for the Project 212 team.

In addition to financial support, PG&E Risk Programs Manager Susan Colborn served as a mentor to the team last year, focused on safety and project management. A half-dozen PG&E coworkers served as mentors to FIRST Robotics teams during the 2022-23 season at high schools within PG&E’s Northern and Central California service area and more are expected to join early next year.

Teacher and coach Alvarico — who also was recently named a 2024 California Teacher of the Year — said he is proud of his team, a team where about three-quarters of its members are Hispanic and 40 percent are girls.

“These kids work really, really hard. I’m so proud of their achievements, not just their achievements, seeing them present in front of the parents, in front of our sponsors, it just makes me feel so happy,” he said as the event concluded.

Alvarico said the students’ dreams, including having a mobile STEM lab to share with younger students, are now possible.

“Thank you, PG&E,” he said. “With you, this dream is going to come true now.”