Burroughs Robotics Team Qualifies for Nationals After Record-Breaking Season

The Burroughs High School robotics team is heading to Houston.

Team 1717, known as the “D’Penguineers,” secured their spot at the FIRST Robotics Championship after a dominant performance at the Los Angeles Regional competition last weekend. The team finished second overall and earned the prestigious Engineering Inspiration Award, punching their ticket to nationals for the first time since 2019.

“This is what we’ve been working toward all season,” said team captain Sofia Martinez, a senior who plans to study mechanical engineering at Cal Poly next fall. “The amount of dedication from every single team member has been incredible. We’re ready to show what Burbank robotics can do on the national stage.”

The D’Penguineers, founded in 2005, have become a powerhouse in Southern California FIRST Robotics Competition circles. This year’s robot, nicknamed “Avalanche,” features an innovative climbing mechanism that helped the team dominate the end-game portion of matches throughout the season.

Six Weeks, One Robot

FIRST Robotics gives teams just six weeks to design, build, and program a robot to compete in a new challenge each year. This season’s game, called “Charged Up,” requires robots to place cone and cube game pieces on a grid while balancing on a charging station during the final seconds of each match.

“The time constraint is brutal, but it teaches real-world engineering skills,” explained faculty advisor and engineering teacher Mr. David Chen, who has mentored the team for eight years. “These students are learning project management, CAD design, manufacturing, programming – skills they’ll use whether they become engineers or not.”

The team meets daily after school in Burroughs’ expanded STEM lab, a 2,400-square-foot space that was renovated in 2020 with support from nearby entertainment industry partners. Students can be found there until 8 p.m. most nights, fine-tuning code or practicing driving routines.

Community Support

“Our community really rallies around this team,” said parent volunteer and team treasurer Lisa Wong, whose daughter Emma is the team’s lead programmer. “We’ve had incredible support from local businesses, especially in the Media District. Many of our sponsors work in entertainment and understand the value of technical creativity.”

Skywalker Sound, located just minutes from campus, has been a major sponsor for three years. The company provides fabrication equipment access and mentorship from professional engineers.

“These kids remind me why I got into engineering,” said Skywalker Sound senior engineer Michael Torres, who volunteers as a team mentor. “Their enthusiasm is infectious. Plus, watching high schoolers debug code at 7 a.m. before first period? That’s dedication you can’t teach.”

Local businesses along Magnolia Boulevard have also stepped up. Porto’s Bakery donates pastries for late-night build sessions, while Burbank’s Fry’s Electronics (before its closure) provided discounted components for years. Now the team sources parts through online vendors and donations from entertainment industry professionals.

Student Leadership

The team operates with impressive student autonomy. Martinez leads a core group of 24 students who handle everything from mechanical design to social media outreach. Junior Alex Thompson manages the team’s extensive 3D printing operation, while sophomore Maya Patel leads the programming subteam despite being one of the youngest members.

“Sofia basically runs a small engineering company,” Chen noted. “She coordinates with mentors, manages budgets, oversees manufacturing schedules. College admissions officers love seeing this kind of leadership experience.”

The team’s success extends beyond competition results. Over 85% of D’Penguineers alumni pursue STEM degrees in college, well above the national average. Several recent graduates now work at major tech companies, including former team captain Jake Morrison, who landed a software engineering role at Apple after graduating from UCLA.

Road to Houston

The path to nationals wasn’t easy. Early in the season, the team struggled with reliability issues that caused their robot to malfunction during crucial matches. A redesigned intake system and hundreds of hours of practice driving turned things around.

“We had some dark moments in January,” admitted Martinez. “Our robot would work perfectly in practice, then fail at competitions. But that’s engineering – you iterate until you get it right.”

The breakthrough came at the Ventura Regional in February, where Avalanche posted the tournament’s highest scoring autonomous routine. The robot scored 24 points in the first 15 seconds of matches, giving alliance partners a commanding early lead.

“Autonomous is where you separate the good teams from the great ones,” explained programming lead Thompson. “We spent weeks perfecting our path planning algorithms. All those late nights paid off.”

Nationals and Beyond

The FIRST Championship in Houston will feature over 400 teams from around the world competing across four divisions. Burroughs will compete in the Archimedes Division against international powerhouses from Brazil, Turkey, and China.

“The competition level at nationals is incredible,” said Chen. “But our students have shown they can compete with anyone. More importantly, they’ve learned to persevere through setbacks and work as a team.”

The team departs for Houston on April 18th, with competition running April 19-22. They’ll need to raise an additional $8,000 to cover travel expenses for all team members – a fundraising push that has energized the broader Burroughs community.

“Whether we win or lose in Houston, this season has already been a success,” Martinez reflected. “We’ve inspired younger students to join STEM programs. We’ve shown that Burbank students can compete at the highest levels. That matters more than any trophy.”

The team will hold a public demonstration of Avalanche in the Burroughs quad during lunch on April 12th, giving the school community a chance to see the robot in action before nationals.

For a program that started in a storage closet 18 years ago, reaching the world championship represents the culmination of years of growth, community support, and student dedication. Win or lose in Houston, the D’Penguineers have already made Burbank proud.