Chandler council recognizes iRise FIRST LEGO League team heading to world championship

Chandler City Council recognized an elementary-school FIRST LEGO League team on May 7 that will represent the community at the 2026 worldwide competition in Boston.

Coach Raga Gorwati introduced the iRise "smart AI bots" team, listing participating students and saying the group solved an archaeology challenge by designing a robo-assistant to navigate narrow, deep spaces and identify artifacts. "Our team has a motto: to grow, to learn, and to never give up," Gorwati said, noting the students advanced from regional and state levels to the world competition.

Gorwati credited "Mr. Alberto" and the iRise Foundation for sustained support—arranging expert panels, museum trips and funding that she said were critical to the students' progress. She asked the community to consider sponsoring the foundation so it can expand STEM opportunities to more children.

The presiding official thanked the coaches and students on behalf of the mayor and council and invited a photograph. The council also noted Fry Elementary School soccer fields have been named for Alberto Esparza (the transcript contains variant spellings for his surname). The students are scheduled to compete in Boston in June.