By: Sarah Wright | Troy Times | Published November 22, 2025
TROY — An all-girls team at Larson Middle School has been coding and building robots while also running outreach events that promote interest in STEM learning — science, technology, engineering and math.
The group is called Girl Botz FTC Team 22918. While it’s based at Larson Middle School, the team includes students from all over the Troy School District.
“So, my husband and I have been helping robotics teams for the past nine years but it’s always in a co-ed team,” said Judy Bunao, co-founder and co-coach of the Girl Botz. “But in the summer of 2022, there was a gathering … called ‘Girls are Great,’ where I could bring girls from my co-ed team.”
After attending the event, Bunao realized the value of having an all-girls team since the Troy School District didn’t have one yet. They reached out to school officials to get started.
The current team consists of Kora Locke, Anwitha Vemuri, Alissa Mutia, Jianna Cruz, Raksha Reddy, Keerthana Chandra, Haneul Kim, Varna Jayaraman, Aarohi Sonar and Merril Sanchez. Bunao and her husband Ed lead the group, along with Varun Jayaraman.
Chandra joined because of an interest in robotics she shares with her sister.
“She’s in high school right now, and ever since I was little, I would help out her robotics team and I was really inspired to always do robotics,” Chandra said.
“One of the things I was really interested in was coding, and one of things I also learned from like a pretty young age is that STEM is a very male-dominated field … so I really wanted to empower girls to go into this field. That’s when I learned there was an all-girls team at Larson Middle School, and that’s why I decided to join.”
Kim described how she found out about Girl Botz.
“I was always interested in STEM, but I didn’t really know where to start. There was an informational night for this school, and Girl Botz was there explaining to people what they were — what they really did — and when I saw that, I just felt inspired,” Kim said. “I just thought I would feel very welcomed if it was an all-girls team, and I’d be more supported.”
Jayaraman has been interested in robotics since the second grade. Over the years, she has gone to many of her brother’s robotics competitions and outreach events.
“When I did go to these competitions, I wouldn’t see many females in the robotics scene,” Jayaraman said. “I would usually just see boys, and that kind of interested me in girls in STEM, and how that could also make a big impact in the STEM field.”
Girl Botz is part of an organization called FIRST, an acronym that means “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” Bunao said that Girl Botz is not simply about making robots; it’s also about how the experience develops the skills and character of the girls.
“Aside from the technical skills and coding skills, we also do meaningful projects — technical and non-technical,” Bunao said. “We do a lot of projects, not only locally, but nationally and internationally.”
For competitions, the girls delegate their duties for each project, with tasks such as designing, coding and building. Their robots tackle different challenges, and they have already won multiple awards, including the Inspire Award, the Connect Award, the Motivate Award, the Think Award, the Control Award and the Compass Award.
Girl Botz has also developed a reputation for helping other teams, both inside and outside the Troy School District, contributing to some of the awards they’ve won. That even takes the form of providing teams with water, treats and feminine products when a competition is underway.
“Right now, a lot of teams — even not from Larson, but from other schools — (they) come to us for mentorship, and we don’t mind,” Bunao said. “Like, we compete, but then we are also uplifting others.”
The team has also been involved in community outreach events, ranging from booths promoting the STEM field to demonstrations at the Troy Public Library and other venues, including the Philippine-American Community Council of Michigan.
Girl Botz also collected new toys for the Ennis Center for Children and volunteered with the Tina M. Houser Food Pantry, among other charitable efforts.
Girl Botz hopes to continue its record of hard work and community service throughout the current competitive season. The team leaders say they also want the kids to have a good time, regardless of where they place in each contest.
“We want them to enjoy the tournament, win or lose,” Bunao said.
The team is currently full, but continues to keep an eye on the elementary schools and other middle schools for potential recruits, should a spot open up. Some previous members even act as mentors to current ones.
For more information, visit ftc22918.weebly.com, instagram.com/22918_girlbotz and the team’s YouTube channel by searching “GirlBotz22918.”