BROWNSVILLE, Texas - (Jan. 17, 2020) Engineman 2nd

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - (Jan. 17, 2020) Engineman 2nd Class Jesus Escobar (center), of Midland, Texas, assigned to Navy Recruiting Station McAllen and Navy Counselor 1st Class Joel Pallero (right), of New York City, assigned to Navy Recruiting Station Brownsville, served as judges during the HESTEC 2020 SeaPerch Challenge held at the Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center. The annual underwater robotics competition, hosted by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in partnership with NRD San Antonio, kicked-off a new format to HESTEC (Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology) this year. Twenty-seven school teams competed in the event which consisted of an underwater obstacle course, a challenge course, and team interviews. The winner of the competition was Los Fresnos School with Roma High School placing second and Harlingen Early College High School placing third. SeaPerch is an innovative underwater robotics program that equips teachers and students with the resources they need to build an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in an in-school or out-of-school setting. NRD San Antonio’s area of responsibility includes more than 34 Navy Recruiting Stations and Navy Officer Recruiting Stations spread throughout 144,000 square miles of Central and South Texas territory. (U.S. Navy photo by Burrell Parmer, Navy Recruiting District San Antonio Public Affairs/Released)