Molokaʻi High robotics team earns special recognition on the global stage

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down many educational programs, but it didn’t stop the Moloka’i High School robotics team.

They participated in online classes and kept enthusiasm alive for a competitive activity the island has historically excelled in.

“A lot of the impact that we’ve had in our community comes from our close relationships with everyone on the island. After COVID hit, a lot of the robotics on the island shut down and a lot of teams were scared to start up again,” said Molokaʻi High robotics team member Kalauʻihi, speaking during an interview at the World Championships.

“But through a bunch of community service and our coach reaching out, we were able to go to other schools and start up programs again.”

As soon as the community reopened after the pandemic, the team boosted interest in the program and helped elementary school robotics programs on Molokaʻi through mentorship and funding opportunities.

The Molokaʻi High team submitted a video about their efforts and won one of five Google-sponsored Community Awards out of nearly 100 entries worldwide. The challenge asked entrants to “highlight ways VEX Robotics teams use their resources and expertise to help or support their local communities.”

They were recognized on stage at the World Championships in front of thousands of attendees.

Molokaʻi High robotics coach Edwin Mendija said the award served as a reminder for the team.

“It matters, what we do, it’s not being overlooked, because we kind of tend to feel that way, sometimes, you know, being one of one of the smaller islands, being overshadowed by the bigger programs,” Mendija said.

Courtesy of Edwin Mendija

“But just this kind of showed us that, yeah, it is really important, and that Molokai can make an impact on the world,” he continued.

Molokaʻi students also represented nine out of 11 Native Hawaiians recognized in the Parade of Nations.

Earlier this year, Molokaʻi High robotics students traveled to Japan for a competition, where they finished with the top five scores and two awards: the Judges Award and the Sportsmanship Award.

“That was that was a really good experience for a lot of these guys, kind of opened their eyes to the world,” said Mendija. “That’s kind of been my goal. Now, it’s no longer just the competition, it’s giving them the experiences.”

The team moved from practicing in the school cafeteria last year to having their own classroom this year.

Mendija said he’s looking into nonprofit status for the program next year to open more funding opportunities.

Unlike many teams, Molokaʻi can only attend a few competitions every year because of travel expenses. That means while other teams often have five to 10 events per year to practice, Molokaʻi High only participated in two competitions this year.

“It’s hard to do it here,” Mendija said. “And you gotta really scrape for funding. Out of any Hawaiʻi team, we always spend the most. We spend thousands on just flights.”

The island’s robotics coaches volunteer their time, and the teams and their families fundraise each year. Despite their limited resources, Molokaʻi robotics teams from all grade levels have been recognized nationally and internationally.