Los STEMateros, the only gold-certified engineering pathway in LAUSD, celebrate their 10th anniversary

At last month’s “Coffee with the Principal” at Boyle Heights Hilda Solis STEM Magnet High School, Olga Sanchez highlighted the school's impact on her four children. All of them graduated from that school and are currently pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).

Ten years ago, she heard that a new pilot school focused on STEM subjects would open in the neighborhood and were looking for students to enroll. The school was initially named STEM Academy of Boyle Heights, and while it was run independently, it shared the campus with Hollenbeck Middle School.

The goal seemed like a big dream, difficult to achieve since these subjects were not commonly taught in the area. However, six teachers from Roosevelt High School decided to test their faith and opened the school in the fall of 2014. 

They wanted to give students of color the opportunity to have a high-quality education and exposure to engineering and technology without leaving their neighborhood. Boyle Heights is a community with about 70% Latinos, and about 76% of its residents are renters, many of them immigrants.

Olga didn’t hesitate to enroll her son, Oscar Sanchez, in the first group of 9th-grade students. At that moment, the school offered only 9th and 10th grades and had only 65 students. Two years later, her son Arturo Sanchez joined, followed by their brother Emmanuel Sanchez and the last one, their sister Brianna Sanchez, who graduated this year.

Oscar is now 24 and he obtained a B.S. in engineering from Cal State Long Beach, Arturo, 22, is working on his master's in Chemistry, also at Cal State Long Beach. Emmanuel, 20, is at Cal State LA studying mechanical engineering and Brianna, 18, is attending Cal Poly Pomona working on her degree in architectural engineering. 

Olga gives all the credit to the teachers who didn’t give up despite the obstacles often presented to them. For example, lack of space to do their engineering projects, a lack of funding to participate in competitions and different principals leading the school. 

She said teachers always believed in her children even when she doubted them. She remembers thinking her son Emmanuel wouldn’t be good at robotics, but his teacher, Mr. Hernandez, proved her wrong.

“He gave him a robot to control, and his group won first place in the robotics competition that year,” said Olga.

When the school first opened, students started working on smaller projects like mouse-trap cars and bridge-building projects. Then, they moved to robotic competitions, and now they are including drone competitions and hydrogen-powered car competitions.

Boyle Heights Hilda Solis STEM Magnet High School is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. While the school’s name and location have changed slightly, the mission of teaching students high-quality STEM education has remained the same. 

Engineer Teacher Israel Hernandez and English Teacher Robert Peñuela, two of the founders, look back and agree that the hard work has paid off. 

Hernandez said that what makes them different from other schools is that they allow for autonomy and collaboration among faculty, staff and administration. 

“We have a program that gives students great exposure to prepare them for STEM fields but now we are officially recognized as a Gold Certified Link learning Pathway and we are the only ones in engineering,” said Hernandez.

The school’s pathway is engineering design, and students can get industry certification by the time they graduate high school. This means the industry recognizes them as competent in a specific type of software.

The school also has a shop where students can manufacture prototypes to participate in competitions.

Penuela said it is very interesting to see how the students make their projects from idea to product. If something breaks, they have to go to the system and redo it, printing in 3D if necessary and fixing it to make it work. They have the teacher's help but it is their job to do it. 

“Maybe their coding is not perfect but they are doing it, and they are trying it. They are controlling it and they are competing,” said Peñuela. “So they learn that not only they can build it but they can work on it and compete.”

Los STEMateros

The students at the school are identified as “Los STEMateros.” Throughout the years, los STEMateros have won some of the most prestigious awards at the regional and national levels. These include the First Robotics in 2018 where they became the Los Angeles Regional Champions. In 2023 they participated in the Aerial Drone competition in Salt Lake City, Utah where they became the Regional Champions and more recently in Anaheim they obtained the Girls in STEM Award at the H2GP Horizon Grand Prix  World Championship. 

Ashley Torres, 16, and Juan Aguilar, 16, are two of the STEMateros; both have participated in competitions. 

Aguilar said he became interested in STEM because he grew up seeing his father inventing things and his mother encouraging him to get into a good career. He hopes to become a mechanical engineer and work at Boston Dynamics.

He said going to competitions has opened his eyes to all the possibilities. 

Torres is into science and math and hopes to become a doctor. She said the teachers at the school have often motivated her to achieve her goals. 

She was part of a group of six female students who won the Girls Award at the Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix World in Anaheim. She said she learned to bond with the other students and their unity helped the team win. 

Principal Matthew Mihm has become a key part of the school. He’s often seen cheering for his students at events and competitions. He makes sure to learn the basics when necessary and celebrates every triumph or learning experience of his students. 

“Students here overcome challenges. If you give them the chance, they are going to win,” he said. “They may not win every time, but they learn about teamwork and unconditional support.”

While he accepts that he does not know much about engineering or some of the competitions that the students participate in, he does know a lot about being present, working hard, and cultivating relationships with the students—and he has been really good at it.

The school moved to its new location at 319 N Humphreys Ave in East Los Angeles, with 255 students and 22 teachers. 

On October 16, Boyle Heights STEM will celebrate its 10th anniversary. During the day the campus will be open so parents and supporters can visit the school and in the afternoon there will be a fundraiser at East Los Tacos at 4500 E. Cesar Chavez Ave, Los Angeles 90022. The proceedings of the fundraiser will go towards expenses for their next competitions. 

For more information visit:https://boyleheightsstem.lausd.org/