Spare Parts

In 2004, four Latino teenagers from Carl Hayden Community High School, an impoverished, predominantly Hispanic school in West Phoenix, Arizona, entered an underwater-robotics competition sponsored by NASA and the U.S. Navy. Competing in the Explorer division, intended for college teams, they built a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) out of PVC pipes and spare parts on a budget of less than $1,000, facing programs including MIT. Joshua Davis, a writer for Wired, learned of their story through a poorly formatted e-mail and published the article that brought them national attention. The book traces each team member's journey from childhood through the competition and into an uncertain future shaped by America's immigration debate.

Lorenzo Santillan arrived in Phoenix as an infant in 1988 after his mother carried him through a border tunnel from Zitácuaro, Mexico, seeking medical care for his misshapen head. His father, Pablo, worked as a gardener and struggled with heavy drinking. Lorenzo endured relentless bullying at school, briefly carried marijuana for a local gang in seventh grade but was terrified and stopped, and got into escalating fights. He found direction watching his godfather fix cars, absorbing lessons about creative problem-solving with limited tools.

Cristian Arcega grew up in Mexicali, Mexico, where he disassembled the family radio at age four and announced at five that he wanted to build robots. His family crossed the border in 1995 and settled in Stanfield, Arizona, where Cristian spoke no English and received straight Fs. His English improved through television, and after the family moved to West Phoenix, he earned straight As by fifth grade. He enrolled at Carl Hayden and became one of the top two students in his class of 600.

Oscar Vazquez grew up in Temosachic, a mountain town in Mexico. His father left for the United States when Oscar was nine, leaving the boy to run the household. Oscar and his mother crossed the border in December 1998, guided through the desert by smugglers. At Carl Hayden, he joined the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) under Maj. Glenn Goins, a Vietnam War veteran, and rose to cadet major. After September 11, 2001, he tried to enlist but learned his undocumented status barred him from service. Searching for a new direction, he walked into teacher Fredi Lajvardi's marine science classroom in October 2003.

Luis Aranda was born in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and grew inexplicably large, reaching six feet and 250 pounds by high school. His family crossed the border in 1991; his father eventually obtained green cards for them. Luis worked in restaurants from age 11 and developed culinary skills by watching chefs. He enrolled in Fredi's Marine Science Seminar as a senior, and Oscar recruited him to the team, where his physical strength proved essential.

The book situates these stories within West Phoenix's transformation from a white working-class neighborhood to one that was 98 percent Hispanic by 2004, and documents Arizona's hostile climate toward immigrants, from police roundups to armed vigilante patrols to Sheriff Joe Arpaio's rhetoric characterizing Mexican immigrants as disease carriers. The team's teachers are outsiders too. Fredi Lajvardi, born in Tehran, Iran, was beaten by teenagers during the Iranian hostage crisis. He began teaching at Carl Hayden in 1987 and created a Science Seminar that became a refuge for tinkerers. Allan Cameron, a Vietnam-era Navy veteran, chose Carl Hayden over academic careers.

In 2003, Fredi and Allan decided to enter the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) ROV Competition. They chose the Explorer division, reasoning that losing to college teams carried no dishonor. Oscar led fundraising, raising about $900 from local businesses. The team solicited expert help: A Florida dealer lent them a laser range finder after Cristian solved a refraction problem the dealer could not, and a temperature engineer donated a thermocouple, a temperature-sensing device.

The team built their ROV from PVC pipe, trolling motors, a waterproof briefcase, and scavenged parts. Cristian proposed housing the battery onboard to reduce tether thickness and improve maneuverability. Lorenzo devised a fluid-sampling system from a balloon, a $35 sump pump, copper tubing, and a halved milk container. Luis cut 80 pieces of pipe by hand. When the briefcase failed to align, Lorenzo used a heat gun to bend the PVC. Oscar named the robot Stinky after the toxic fumes produced during assembly.

Before the MATE competition, the team entered a FIRST robotics event, a separate ground-based competition, where they won an Engineering Inspiration Award and a trip to the national championship in Atlanta, building teamwork and confidence.

At Santa Barbara, water leaked into the briefcase during practice, loosening wires. That night, Lorenzo bought tampons to absorb moisture inside the robot, and he and Oscar stayed up until 2:30 a.m. resoldering all 64 wires. During the underwater competition, MIT posted 48 points but could not complete the fluid-sampling task. Stinky completed several objectives. With 15 minutes remaining, Oscar redirected the team to the sampling barrel. He and Cristian made tiny joystick adjustments, and Stinky's copper probe slid into the half-inch opening on the first attempt. Lorenzo counted to 20 in Spanish as they collected a 500-milliliter sample. Their score of 32 points placed them third in the underwater portion.

At the awards ceremony, the team won the Design Elegance prize, the Technical Writing Award, and the overall championship. Third place went to Cape Fear Community College; second went to MIT. The audience, including MIT's students, rose for a standing ovation.

The triumph did not translate into lasting opportunity. Arizona voters passed Proposition 200 in 2004 and Proposition 300 in 2006, barring undocumented immigrants from public benefits and in-state tuition. Davis's Wired article generated over $120,000 in scholarship donations, but systemic barriers remained. Cristian enrolled at Arizona State University (ASU) but dropped out when his tuition quadrupled; he spent five years working at Home Depot and inventing in his bedroom. Lorenzo graduated as the first in his family to earn a diploma, earned a culinary degree, and became a line cook. His family lost their home in 2009.

Oscar married Karla Perez, a U.S. citizen, and graduated from ASU with a mechanical engineering degree. At the 2009 commencement, he was one of three seniors honored before President Obama and 70,000 people. He then deported himself to Mexico, hoping to earn legal residency. At the U.S. consulate in Juárez, his application was denied, and he received a ten-year ban. He picked beans for $3.80 a day, then worked at a car-parts factory for $22 a day while gunfights erupted outside his home. After Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois championed his case while pushing the DREAM Act, legislation offering a citizenship pathway for young immigrants who attended college, Oscar's residency was approved in July 2010. He returned to Phoenix, enlisted in the Army, became a U.S. citizen at Fort Knox, and deployed to Afghanistan, fulfilling the dream he had held since joining JROTC.

As of the book's conclusion, Lorenzo works as a line cook at St. Francis, Oscar has completed his Army tour at the rank of sergeant and works as a foreman at BNSF Railway, Luis empties trash cans at the federal courthouse and caters events with Lorenzo on weekends, and Cristian lives at home, still inventing. Lorenzo and Cristian hold temporary protection under a 2012 executive order. During the filming of a movie about the team, Lorenzo watches an actor playing his father embrace an actor playing him and tells Davis quietly, "My father would never do that" (227). Fredi still teaches at Carl Hayden, where the robotics team has become one of the most decorated programs in the country. Allan retired in 2006 and volunteers with the team.