The ASK Academy heads to world championship

RIO RANCHO — The ASK (Attitude, Skills and Knowledge) Academy robotics team might soon stand on top of the world.

The team, composed of five students enrolled in the state public charter school serving grades 6-12, has qualified for the 2025 VEX Robotics World Championship, scheduled for May 6-14, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.

Ethan Abbate, a senior and robotics club member, said in an interview Monday that he is thrilled to compete in the world championship.

“We’ve been doing this for four years and never went, so it’s pretty exciting to finally get going,” he said.

Abbate and his fellow club members — students Keivan Wright, Zach Bomke, Roy Garcia and Aidan Gribble — had taken first place in skills and third place in the tournament categories during the statewide robotics competition at Cibola High School March 7-8.

The ASK Academy’s robotics club members will prepare for the World Championship by honing their current robot and practicing, Abbate said.

He believes competing in the championship with students from all over the world will be fun since he has never traveled outside the U.S.

“It’s going to be cool seeing other people from other countries and getting to know other cultures,” Abbate said.

Regarding his outlook on the world championship, he said his club probably isn’t “the best in the world,” but could win a few awards — and everyone will get to see it.

“There’s a livestream, so ... it is cool being able to put ourselves out there like that,” Abbate said.

Michael Wright, the robotics club coach and Keivan’s father, said he felt excited but not surprised over the students’ success in the statewide championship.

“They’re incredibly intelligent; they put a lot of time and effort into their robots and strategy,” Wright said, adding the students put at least 20 hours a week into robotics-related activities after school.

He told his students as they go into the world championship not to second-guess their robotics strategy.

“If they ever doubt that their strategy is going to work, (they should) stop doubting themselves because their strategy could very well outperform the other teams if they have complete confidence in what they do,” Wright said.

While attending the world championship, Wright said his students will be able to network with peers from around the world and learn from them about robot builds and the strategy behind it.

Bill Barrett, principal of The ASK Academy, said in a prepared statement that the school is proud of the students on the robotics team.

“Their commitment to each other as a team, coupled with their passion for the subject and desire to represent our school and compete, have contributed greatly to their success,” Barrett said. “Whatever the outcome of the competition at the worlds, we are thrilled, knowing that they have learned a great deal throughout their journey and performed to the best of their abilities. We wish them the best of luck!”