An elementary school robotics team whose robots burned in the Palisades Fire in January made a remarkable comeback in matter of months.
The team is competing this week in the Robotics World Championships in Dallas, about four months after the wildfire burned Marquez Elementary School and the team's robots. The team was forced to start over after the fire, the first step in the long road to this week's competition.
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Fourth-grader Carter Reierson recalled those first uncertain days after the wildfire on the Los Angeles County coast.
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SIGN UP "Is the bot okay? Will we even ever do robotics again at Marquez, like ever?" Carter recalled asking.
Carter and his classmates, fourth- and fifth-grade students, had to start from scratch. Coaches worked to get parts donated from other schools and the community.
"And there was never a doubt in the mind of this team that they were going to make it further and rebuild, and it's just unbelievable to see where they are now," said Amanda Reierson, Carter's mom. "I'm in awe of the kids. I'm in awe of the kids' resilience and their ability to just get back up and keep on moving. In fact, I think a lot of us as parents, going through losing the community, a lot of us losing our homes, we really take cues from them and watch them and take strength from them. And, it's really amazing to watch and take inspiration from as we look forward and build the next chapter of our lives."
The fifth-grade team recently advanced to the US Open Championship in Iowa. The school's fourth-grade team is competing at this week's Robotic World Championships in Texas, which conclude Wednesday.
The event brings together teams from around the world to compete in elementary, middle and high school competitions.
"We're really proud, and we just… we love everything," Carter said. "We have great coaches and everything's just, everything's great right now."
