Sammy Rivera

Sammy Rivera is the Program Delivery Partner for FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) in South Texas and a passionate educator with nearly 20 years of experience teaching middle school Science in Mission, TX. He began his STEM journey by creating a robotics program for migrant students in his school district, which later evolved into a district-wide implementation of STEM initiatives in 2013. Since then, Sammy has founded and mentored FIRST teams across all programs—FRC, FTC, and FLL. Under his guidance, eight teams have advanced to the prestigious FIRST World Championship.

Sammy’s former students have gained teamwork, problem-solving, and essential soft skills through hands-on learning in FIRST. Many of them have pursued careers in STEM and continue to give back as FIRST Alumni and volunteers. Beyond coaching, Sammy has championed STEM education throughout the Rio Grande Valley by collaborating with local colleges to provide Arduino, Spike Prime, and EV3 coding courses. Dedicated to making robotics accessible to minorities and underserved populations, he has partnered with non-profit organizations and the McAllen Public Library system to create free robotics camps for students in South Texas.

In 2022, after years of volunteering as a venue host, scorekeeper, and judge, Sammy took on the role of Program Delivery Partner for FTC. His guiding philosophy is that everyone can go Pro and pursue a career in STEM. His goal is to expand opportunities and remove barriers so that all students in South Texas can discover their potential. Sammy is passionate about supporting coaches and his entire region so that all teams and students can achieve success through robotics. In this capacity, he strives to expand opportunities by growing access to robotics programs and building stronger community partnerships across South Texas. His goal is to inspire and impact the next generation of engineers, innovators, and leaders who will continue advancing the mission and culture of FIRST.

Sammy graduated from the University of Texas–Pan American with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. In addition to his work in education and STEM, he has served as a certified Pharmacy Technician for more than 10 years.