Nayovi Leon: Falcons alum explores new horizons at Capitol

It’s an inspiring example of vision, determination and eventual triumph over the odds. A team of four undocumented Latino teenagers at a Phoenix-area high school entered an underwater robotics competition and beat the team from MIT. Their achievement was chronicled in the movie Underwater Dreams, directed by Mary Mazzio. The film garnered critical acclaim and was shown at the White House in May of 2014.

The team’s experiences also provided the basis for a 2015 feature film, Spare Parts, starring George Lopez, Jaime Lee Curtis and Marisa Tomei.

And the story doesn’t end there.  New generations of robotics enthusiasts at Carl Hayden High have carried on the legacy started by the boys, with the Falcon Robotics 842 team continuing to ace competitions to this day. 

Nayovi Leon, a Capitol freshman studying Management of Cyber and Information Technology, can tell you anything you want to know about the storied Falcons. She was a member of the team for two years, during which it made first place in regional competition. Leon is in the credits for Spare Parts, having contributed her welding skills to the production. She also appears in Underwater Dreams, commenting on the team’s legacy.

“It shows that even though we’re from a community which faces many obstacles, we can amount to something,” Leon says. The original team members “set the bar high for us,” she adds.

Leon is passionate both about robotics and about advocating for the Latino community. While serving as public affairs head for the Falcons team, she appeared on the Univision television network to promote STEM education for minority youths.

Enrolling in a university on the East Coast was a momentous choice for someone with close ties to her hometown. “At first I thought it was crazy to move out to Maryland,” she acknowledges. In the end, though, the quality of Capitol’s programs won out over the other schools she was considering, and Capitol was able to offer a financial aid package, reflective of Leon’s high GPA, that clinched the decision.

“I love Capitol,” Leon says.  “Class sizes are small, I’ve been able to build relationships with my mentors and professors, and the Cyber Lab is a great resource. It’s particularly exciting when employees from the NSA or other companies and organizations come to the campus to give talks about developments in the field, their personal experiences, and what we can do with our degrees.”

Meanwhile, her advocacy work continues. She is spending this summer back in Phoenix, assisting the organization Chicanos Por La Causa with its IT and cybersecurity needs as part of a summer internship.

With technology fields seeking to promote greater gender and ethnic diversity and attract more women to pursue STEM careers, Leon feels she is in the right place at the right time. She is setting her sights on a career in cybersecurity after graduation.

“There are a lot of opportunities out there,” she says.