Project Promise Robotics Heads to Panama

M.A. Dworkin

St. Croix - On October 27, 2025, a team of three local high school students left for Panama City, Panama, to represent the U.S. Virgin Islands in a Global Robotics Challenge hosted by First Global, a nonprofit organization focused on STEM education for youth. 

The six-person delegation includes: Resa O’Reilly Sheam, Executive Director and Founder of the St. Croix nonprofit Project Promise, who is managing the team; Three official team members - Alejandro Quinones Jr., Nyan Bedminster, and Ziva Caleb. The team’s coach Francisco Reyes and Alejandro’s parent Chantelle Quinones are also making the trip.

This year will be Project Promise’s third year participating in the global event. In 2023, Project Promise was invited by First Global and received a full sponsorship by the organization to participate in their Robotics Challenge in Singapore, and last year local students participated in the competition in Athens, Greece. 

“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity,” said Ziva Caleb, the team’s leader. “I’m absolutely thrilled about our team’s potential and can’t wait to see our hard work on display as we compete in the First Global Challenge…I’m ready to experience what they have in store for us!”

Since April, the dedicated team of students and their coach have been meeting regularly to strategize and prepare for the competition. 

Students from around the globe will ascend in Panama City to collaborate and compete during the 2025 Challenge.

“We are excited that this year we have once again been invited to represent the U.S. Virgin Islands at the First Global Robotics Challenge,” said Resa O’Reilly Sheam. “We are incredibly grateful to the First Global organization for the opportunity, and all our sponsors for their additional support!”

The First Global Challenge is an annual, Olympic-style international robotics event to which one team of high school students from every nation is invited to participate. Held in a different nation each year, the Challenge seeks to highlight the greatest challenges facing our planet while encouraging the next generation to build STEM skills required to solve them. Teams receive the same kit of parts, which they use to build a robot designed to complete a series of tasks. The event itself is then designed to foster collaboration between teams.

Project Promise is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk youth on St. Croix by providing empowerment initiatives, cultural programs, and family services. To learn more about Project Promise, please visit their website at www.projectpromisevi.com.