The Revere School Committee recently honored Team NUTRONs, the robotics team from Revere High School, recognizing a season that culminated in a state championship and further solidified the program's reputation as one of the premier high school robotics teams in Massachusetts and beyond.
The recognition came during a recent school committee meeting, where city and school leaders praised the students, coaches, and mentors for a season marked by competitive success, technical excellence, and national recognition.
Mayor Patrick Keefe congratulated the team, noting that while championships are difficult to achieve in any activity, the NUTRONs’ accomplishments stand out not only for their competitive success but also for the way they represent Revere on a larger stage.
"State championships don't come by often," Keefe said. "Your team has done that. But not only that, you've been recognized nationally and internationally. It makes me very proud because we're a community that wants to celebrate the good and highlight it."
The mayor said the robotics program exemplifies the opportunities available to students at Revere High School and reflects the district's broader commitment to preparing students for college, careers, and emerging industries.
Keefe shared that during a recent meeting with Serve Robotics, a Silicon Valley-based autonomous delivery technology company, the conversation quickly turned to Revere's robotics program.
"The first thing they said to me was, 'We heard you have a pretty good robotics team,'" Keefe told the students. "Those are the types of people we're going to hope to provide jobs for. They were talking about the Revere robotics team. This company had never met us before and probably hadn't spent more than a day in the city of Revere, yet they were telling me how much they've heard about your program."
For robotics adviser Josh Miranda, the recognition was the culmination of months of hard work by students who spent countless hours designing, building, testing, and refining their robot throughout the season.
Each year, robotics teams are presented with a new engineering challenge and have roughly two months to design and construct a robot capable of competing against other teams. Once the build season concludes, teams compete at events throughout New England and, if successful, advance to higher levels of competition.
This year's campaign began with a strong showing in Reading, where Team NUTRONs captured first place. The team then hosted its annual competition at Revere High School and finished as event runner-up. Additional runner-up finishes followed in Vermont and at the district championship competition.
While the close finishes were disappointing, Miranda noted that the team consistently demonstrated technical excellence, earning a technical award at each of those events.
Those performances qualified the NUTRONs for the FIRST World Championship, where they competed against approximately 600 of the best robotics teams from around the globe. The team continued to impress on the international stage, serving as alliance captains within their division and advancing deep into competition.
The season reached its pinnacle just weeks later when the NUTRONs captured the Massachusetts State Championship.
"We had another great season this year," Miranda said. "I'm really proud of our group of students."
Miranda highlighted the leadership of the team's senior class, crediting them not only with helping guide the team's competitive success but also with mentoring younger students and ensuring the program's future remains bright.
Among the team's accomplishments this year was the successful integration of several eighth-grade students who joined the program and quickly became part of the team's collaborative culture.
"Our seniors really kind of run things for me," Miranda said. "They've been great. They mentor our younger students. This year we had several eighth graders join our team because of that mentorship, and that has solidified our future."
Miranda also recognized the team's volunteer mentors, who provide students with hands-on instruction in engineering, programming, design, fabrication, and other technical skills that are essential to building a competitive robot.
"They're responsible for making sure we're putting together a competitive robot and that our students are learning all those technical skills," he said.
The adviser thanked Superintendent Dr. Dianne Kelly, district administrators, and the School Committee for their continued investment in robotics and STEM education.
"It wouldn't be possible to run this type of program without that support," Miranda said. "And it's definitely not possible to be as competitive as we have been without that support."
The School Committee concluded the recognition ceremony by honoring the team's coaches, mentors, and student members for their achievements.
For Revere Public Schools, the state championship represents more than a trophy. It reflects years of investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and demonstrates how students can compete—and excel—on both national and international stages.