MCA’s Robotics Team 14901, Cubotics, earned an Inspire Award and has a coveted spot at the FIRST World Championship!

On February 22, 2025, Cubotics competed in the Louisiana State Championship in Denham Springs, where 24 teams took on this year’s "Into the Deep" challenge as part of the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC). The team’s outstanding performance earned them the Inspire Award, the most prestigious honor of the competition. This victory secured one of only two spots from Louisiana to advance to the FIRST World Championship, set to take place in Houston, April 16-19.

The Inspire Award recognizes teams that excel in all aspects of the competition — including robot design, programming, outreach, and teamwork — while also serving as role models for others. It is awarded to teams with leadership, innovation, and a commitment to sharing their knowledge. “Winning this award means so much to us because it reflects everything our team has worked toward this season,” said sophomore Lucy Mizell.

About FIRST
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a global organization dedicated to inspiring students in STEM through hands-on robotics competitions. Teams work together to design, build, and program robots while also engaging in community outreach and collaboration. More than just a competition, FIRST fosters problem-solving, teamwork, and real-world engineering skills.

The Road to Worlds
The FIRST World Championship is the highest level of competition, bringing together the best teams from around the world to compete, exchange ideas, and celebrate STEM. At Worlds, Cubotics will:

• Compete in high-stakes FTC matches on a global stage
• Present to judges and showcase their engineering design process
• Network with industry professionals from leading STEM companies
• Explore college and career opportunities, as many universities and corporations actively recruit from FIRST programs

Meet the Team
Congratulations to the 11 dedicated team members whose hard work, perseverance, and passion have made this possible:

Julianne Serrano
Sophia Hattier
Ava Walker
Alyssa Romero
Kaley Heck
Lucy Mizell
Jolie Oubre
Avery Dugas
Emily Aleman
Annelise Cotaya
Daphne Dyle

MCA’s Cubotics will be joined at Worlds by Jesuit, the only other Louisiana team to qualify. Best of luck to Cubotics as they take on the FIRST World Championship!