Metal Maniacs #20163 selected as 2026 FIRST Global STEM Corps Advisors after world championship
FOLSOM — A local youth robotics team is stepping into a global leadership role after earning international recognition at one of the world’s premier STEM competitions, returning home with a prestigious international appointment that now places them in a position to help shape the next generation of robotics teams across the globe.
Fresh off a flight from the FIRST World Championship in Houston, local youth robotics team Metal Maniacs (#20163) proudly accepted the honor of serving as 2026 STEM Corps Advisors for FIRST Global, an organization that hosts an annual Olympics-style robotics competition uniting youth from nearly 200 countries around the world.
Earning this international appointment for the second time, these local STEM and robotics students are stepping beyond the competition arena to serve the global STEM community in a much broader capacity. Because many participating nations arrive at the worldwide competition without established technology programs or access to the same resources, the Metal Maniacs will now take on a mentorship role, working virtually with high school teams from emerging nations.
Through that work, they will guide students through the engineering process, helping them design, build and code their robots while also reinforcing the idea that high-level engineering and global empathy can go hand in hand.
Representing a diverse, cross-district coalition of students from Folsom High, Vista del Lago, Sutter Middle, Folsom Middle and Cottonwood Charter, the Metal Maniacs operates as an inclusive STEM robotics education powerhouse driven by the very community that helped build it. The team’s growth and continued success have been fueled through strong local partnerships, including collaboration with Folsom Lake College, the FLC Innovation Center, along with the continued support of sponsors and dedicated volunteers who have helped expand access to robotics education across the region.
“Metal Maniacs aren’t just building robots. We actively building our region into a global hub for youth STEM and robotics education,” said Evelyn Ma, the 11th-grade founding leader and outreach director of the team. “When we’re on a video call teaching Team Ghana how to design or code their robot, we are showing the world what ‘Silicon Foothills’ students are capable of. And we want to bring that global perspective right back home to share with our neighboring robotics teams.”
That global impact was already on display at the recent FIRST World Championship, where members of the Metal Maniacs — including Evelyn Ma, Megan See and Bernie Chen, all from Folsom High — delivered highly sought-after educational workshops to an international audience. Their sessions reached industry sponsors such as Qualcomm, along with educators, organizational staff and youth peers from across the Americas, including Canada, the United States, Mexico and Chile, further elevating the presence of the region on the international STEM stage.
“Your team opened up my mind,” one FRC Mentor Conference attendee shared.” Your team was really inspiring,” another attendee added.
Beyond the global stage, the team continues to play a major role in building opportunities locally, reinforcing the region’s growing identity as part of the emerging “Silicon Foothills” movement. The same student leaders who are now mentoring international peers have also been instrumental in organizing large-scale local events, including annual FIRST qualifying tournaments hosted at Folsom Lake College earlier this year. Those events, made possible through partnerships with Playing at Learning and the work of numerous volunteers, have provided more than 56 teams with a robust and accessible pathway into STEM competition, supporting over 20 percent of Northern and Central California FIRST Tech Challenge teams.
That combination of global reach and local commitment will be on display for the community in the coming days. Local leaders, families and prospective partners are invited to meet the student leaders behind the Metal Maniacs at the City of Folsom’s 80th Celebration on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at City Lions Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There, attendees will have the opportunity to view the team’s engineering work up close, connect directly with the students driving the effort, and learn how local businesses and civic leaders are joining the coalition to expand access to STEM education for youth both locally and abroad.
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