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Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream

About the Book

Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream

In 2004, four Latino teenagers from Carl Hayden Community High School in Phoenix, Arizona, arrived at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to participate in the Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition. Going up against some of the best collegiate engineers in the country (including an MIT team funded by ExxonMobil), Oscar, Cristian, Luis and Lorenzo wowed the judges --- and raised the stakes in America’s immigration debate. Born in Mexico but raised in Arizona, they were undocumented and their team was underfunded, but thanks to the support of two enthusiastic teachers, the kids from the desert managed to build an award-winning underwater robot using scavenged parts. Tracing their journey, including the decade after their high school triumphs, SPARE PARTS gives voice to a group of young men who proved to be among the most patriotic and talented students in this country --- even as the country tried to kick them out.

Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream
by Joshua Davis

  • Publication Date: December 2, 2014
  • Genres: Biography, Nonfiction
  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: FSG Originals
  • ISBN-10: 0374534985
  • ISBN-13: 9780374534981