Students Compete At Regional Robotics Championship At Tulsa Expo Square

High school students from around the world are competing at Expo Square for a chance to advance to the robotic world championships. 

Payton Mayberry is a senior at Memorial High School and this is her tenth time competing. 

"We're going to run some robots, do some judging, and hopefully come home with some awards," said Mayberry. 

There are 47 teams in the tournament, including seven teams from different countries. 

The teams got details in January about the challenge they'll be doing, and then had six weeks to build the robots. 

They will form alliances, and the winning alliance heads to the world championship. 

"These kids have worked really hard for the past six weeks, getting a robot put together, designing it and rebuilding, and now they are out here showing their stuff and what they can do," said Regional Director Melinda Taylor. 

Taylor said this competition is a special way for students to grow and learn. 

"This is something that gives them the ability to learn, make mistakes, and know that it's okay to make mistakes, and sometimes you can get what you want out of a mistake without even realizing it," Taylor said.

Payton said she has grown so much since she started competing.

Payton was a C student, but now makes all A's, heading to college as a computer science major. 

Most importantly, she found the friendships she was looking for. 

"I went to look for friends, instead I got a family, this whole environment, you're not just a different team, but your friends and family with every single one," she said. 

The world championship will be in Houston, Texas on April 19th.