Two Folsom teens are making waves in the world of robotics, showcasing their ingenuity and leadership as part of the award-winning teams at St. Francis Catholic High School. Senior Darlene Eugenio and freshman Deselyn Galang recently helped their respective teams take first place at the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Monterey Bay Regional Competition, one of the most competitive contests of its kind.
Eugenio, known as “Dar” to her peers, is a veteran member of the program and leads the Ranger class team, which is now preparing to compete in the world championships this June in Alpena, Michigan. Galang, or “Des,” is part of the Navigator class team, a newly formed group of freshmen that also placed first in their division. However, the Navigator class does not advance to the international event.
Both teams impressed judges with their underwater robots, which completed tasks designed to simulate real-world marine science and technology challenges. These included DNA analysis to identify fish population growth, environmental monitoring at various water depths, and the collection of jellyfish specimens. Hosted in Watsonville, the event serves as the Central California regional hub for the MATE program and is recognized for its high level of competition.
For Eugenio, the recent victory marked the culmination of years of dedication and growth.
“During the award ceremony, we’re all gathered as a team. We have our underclassmen team with us, and we were all super scared. You know, we have really good competition. So hearing the third place and second place was really worrying because we thought we didn’t place at all,” Eugenio said. “And then when we placed first, we all jumped up screaming. The majority of our team is seniors, so we were all crying, and it was just a rush of emotion. It was—it was a really good feeling.”
Eugenio serves as the buoyancy engine lead, a position that involves designing and building circuit boards for one of the team’s two robots. One robot is remote-controlled, equipped with cameras and thrusters. The other, a buoyancy engine, is autonomous and programmed to collect data while rising and sinking in the water.
“For our robotics team, we have two robots. One is the main remote-controlled ROV, which has cameras and thrusters, and it’s remote-controlled by a pilot. And the other robot is the Buoyancy Engine, which is a float. It’s not remote-controlled—it’s auto,” she explained. “So we basically program it to go up and down and transmit its data through the website that we use with our Wi-Fi.”
Her passion for robotics began during her freshman year when a close friend encouraged her to join. Over time, she has watched the program expand and improve.
“Freshman year, it was really hard because we had no help whatsoever as much. We did have coaches, but we didn’t even have a pool on our campus,” Eugenio said. “So we did have to go to Jesuit for pool time, and we still go to Jesuit for pool time, but now we do have an indoor pool in the Armory. So that’s really nice, and we have a lot more machinery and a lot more engaged parents and stuff.”
Eugenio, who plans to study biology with a pre-med focus at UC San Diego, said the technical experience she’s gained will be useful in her future.
“All the coding I learned is going to be really helpful since AI is entering a little bit as part of the medical world,” she said.
She also credits robotics with building her confidence and teamwork skills. “I think robotics has definitely taught me to use my voice and know when to ask questions and know when to ask for help because you can never do something by yourself,” Eugenio said. “You know the saying, ‘It takes a village’? It really does take a village. And just asking for help and using my resources—I think that is the biggest lesson I’ve learned in robotics.”
For Galang, the experience marked an impressive start to her high school career. As part of the freshman Navigator team, she and her peers collaborated to build a robot that earned first place in their division.
“It’s good to see all the hard work and teamwork pay off in such a big way, especially because it was our first time,” Galang said. “It’s like a test run, I guess, but we won, so it’s exciting.”
Galang worked on the camera team and also contributed to the team’s marketing materials.
“My favorite was learning how to use Onshape and learning how to make mounts. My other favorite part was working on the marketing poster because I thought writing all the stuff and formatting was really fun,” she said.
The competition did come with challenges, particularly managing long workdays.
“The most challenging part was being aware of the time,” Galang said. “We’re there from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and then later 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. as we got further into the season. You don’t have a concept of time because it’s the same length as a school day or sometimes longer. But then it’s 4 o’clock, and you realize there’s still a lot to do.”
Despite the intensity, she valued the friendships that developed over the season.
“Once you get to know the people on the team, it’s not as hard to talk to them and approach them in a professional or friendly way,” she said. “Especially because our team is all freshmen, most of us didn’t know each other because this was our first time meeting in high school.”
Galang said she’s already looking ahead to next season.
“Next year, we’re going to go to Worlds again, hopefully. That’s the next goal because we have to build up on this success in the coming years,” she said.
Robotics coach Marcus Grindstaff said both students have thrived in the program.
“Dar’s comment is right on—people may question what our capabilities are. We just sort of pay attention to what we need to get done and show up and do it,” he said.
Grindstaff praised Eugenio’s consistency and growth.
“Dar has gone to Worlds before with the team. She’s been to all three of the last years. In fact, this will be all four of her years,” he said.
He also pointed to the promising future of the program thanks to Galang and her peers.
“This year for our varsity team, the Ranger team, we’re losing eight people. When I say losing, they’re graduating. There’s nothing I can do about that,” Grindstaff said. “And so we’re losing a ton of talent. But I think we can see that the freshman team is going to be backfilling that talent in a spectacular way.”
The robotics program teaches technical, leadership, and teamwork skills, he added.
“Clearly, the technical skills—you’ve got to build a robot, right? So you’ve got to have software, you’ve got to have electronics. We have custom-printed circuit boards, we write all our own software, we have CNC machines and 3D printers, and we make all the mechanical stuff,” Grindstaff said.
He described the team’s organizational structure as similar to a tech company, offering students opportunities to lead and manage projects.
“We have an org structure that looks like a company. There’s an executive leadership team, there’s a functional leadership team, and they get to try out those skills,” he said.
Grindstaff also emphasized the commitment required from students.
“Most of the freshmen who come in, in fact, most of the students, no matter when they join, have never had a project that they’ve had to work on with a team for nine months, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Saturday, plus days after school on one project,” he said.
With growing interest, he said the program is expanding and seeking community support.
“In the last four years, we’ve grown from six students to 36. We’re constantly growing our space. We’re in the midst of growing something called the STEM Zone right now,” he said. “We’re very open to and in need of both sponsorships of the corporate type of funding and organizations that would want to help us build out that space—everything from HVAC to electrical.”
A Bright Future on the Horizon
Eugenio and Galang are both proud to represent Folsom and young women in STEM fields.
“It’s just so inspiring to see that our name is not just our team, but also represents all women in STEM,” Eugenio said.
Now, Eugenio and her Ranger classmates are preparing to face international competition at the world championships in Michigan this June, where top robotics teams from across the globe will compete. The team has already formed connections with groups from Egypt, Northern Europe, and Asia.
Grindstaff underscored the importance of this final stretch.
“The World Championships are the culmination of everything we’ve worked toward all year. It’s practice, practice, practice—make the robot better, practice the presentation, make the technical reports better. There’s a ton of work to do between now and the World Championships. No rest for the weary, right?” he said.
For Eugenio, it’s a familiar experience but still a major milestone.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but we’ve been there before, so it’s not anything too new,” she said. “Mostly, we’ll focus on making sure our robot runs smoothly and doesn’t do anything we don’t want it to do. Also, preparing our presentation and all the stuff that comes with the presentation, which includes our presentation board and the little keychains that we hand out.”
As Eugenio prepares for college and Galang looks forward to the years ahead in the robotics program, both students are well on their way to achieving even greater success in STEM.
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