Oklahoma all-girls robotics team wins big at national competition

An all-girls robotics team from Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy (OVCA) is showing the country what women in STEM can do. Krista Bader, a junior from Tulsa and Ayibatari Ehimika, a sophomore from Broken Arrow make up Team Hello Kitty.

The teens recently returned home from Reston, Virginia where they competed and won the K12 Robotics League National Championship in the 10-12th grade division. Krista and Ayibatari were awarded $1,000 and a trophy. However, they said their biggest accomplishment is proving that girls belong in robotics.

"We were the only all-girls team," said Ayibatari. "There were other girls but they were in mixed teams. I think it is awesome being an all-girls team because it can show other girls that they can excel in robotics, too."

Their coach, Phillip Przybylo, said that is not the only thing setting Team Hello Kitty apart. He adds their determination and willingness to win is why they are so successful. "They never looked at these competitions as having any kind of invisible barrier to them," he continued, "They just were willing to charge right through any perceived barrier."

While most kids are taking the summer off, Team Hello Kitty is programming, coding, and designing a robot using physics, math, engineering, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. Krista even has a robotics map setup in her house to practice daily. "I do it in my house," she said. "We have a table and we have all the stuff to level it, it is like a work of carpentry."

After her win with Ayibatari, Krista is now preparing for a larger competition in California that serves as a qualifier for the World Robot Olympiad International Finals in Singapore. If she makes it, that would be Krista's second time to represent Team USA on a global robotics stage. "I do not want to be cheesy or cliche but robotics kind of taught me a lot about being confident in myself," she said.

A confidence that Przybylo believes will inspire more young girls to join robotics and pursue careers in STEM. "When they threw themselves into it, when they were willing to try new things and experience new things and follow through on it, they saw just how capable they were, how brilliant they were, and I think that is a lesson that can be learned by anyone," he said.