Alexis Ngo and Tara Yuenyongsgool, eighth-graders at the ASU Prep Poly SPARK Institute in Mesa, share a common passion — robotics.
The pair competed together at the 2025 CREATE Jr US Open World Championship in Council Bluffs, Iowa, from April 3-5. Using their robot “Johnny 20,” which was built in just a week, Ngo and Yuenyongsgool brought home the prestigious Honor Award and also finished second place in the event’s skills competition. Along the way, they were supported by ASU Prep teacher and coach Matthew Chicci.
All three of them took different paths to getting into robotics. For Ngo, it was when she first went into middle school.
