Science as a Universal Language: Vivian’s Journey from Tanzania to Panama
This past October, something extraordinary happened: a SEGA student stepped onto one of the world’s biggest STEM stages, representing not only her school, but her entire country of Tanzania.
Vivian, a Form Three student at the SEGA Girls’ School, traveled to Panama City to compete in the 2025 FIRST Global Challenge—an international Olympic-style robotics competition that brings together young innovators from more than 190 countries.
For many young people around the world, robotics still feels abstract. For many girls, especially in Sub-Saharan African communities with limited exposure to STEM, it can feel entirely out of reach.
Vivian is helping to change that.
And so is SEGA Girls’ School.
A Dream Begins in Morogoro
Years before she ever imagined traveling internationally would be within reach for her, Vivian was a 7-year-old girl whose curiosity for STEM began with her first visit to a local hospital. Then, she wasn’t thinking about robotics or global competitions. She was simply curious.
“I saw doctors in the hospital, and I was curious about how they got there,” she shared. “They told me that to be a doctor, I had to take sciences. From then onwards, all my mind was eager to learn were sciences.”
That spark, simple, sincere curiosity, became the beginning of a journey that would eventually lead her across the world to Panama City. But robotics wasn’t something she had imagined for herself. So how did she get there?
How Robotics found Vivian
It wasn’t until she joined the SEGA Girls’ School that her dream began to take shape.
Her first exposure to Robotics came through physics and chemistry lessons, where teachers connected scientific theory to real-world problem-solving. Through SEGA’s STEM curriculum and hands-on activities, she began exploring biomedical concepts, engineering principles, and technology-driven solutions.
“What inspires me about robotics is how universal it is,” Vivian explains. “It can improve agriculture, medicine, and so many other fields. I’m especially excited about how robotic tools help heart surgeons work with greater precision.”
For a future cardiologist, robotics suddenly felt relevant. Powerful. Full of possibility.
But Vivian’s interest grew far beyond the classroom. Volunteers of the STEM Adventures program introduced new technologies and ideas. And Career Days exposed her to innovators in her own community. Together, these experiences widened her world and deepened her excitement for STEM, revealing pathways she hadn’t known existed.
As Vivian’s confidence grew, her teachers saw her emerging potential. Naturally, when national leaders began identifying students to represent Tanzania at the 2025 FIRST Global Challenge, her name rose to the top.
Her reaction was immediate and honest: “I was surprised and very excited. I couldn’t believe I would represent my country on a global stage.”
Bigger Than Robotics: The Journey in Panama
More than a competition, the FIRST Global Challenge in Panama City was a gathering of the world’s brightest young minds, each tasked with addressing real-world problems under the 2025 theme, Eco Equilibrium.
Vivian joined a team of Tanzanian students from different schools. Together, they programmed, strategized, and built a robot that had the capabilities “to remove environmental barriers, collect and protect biodiversity units, and then climb a rope—representing advancing technology—with speed and precision.”
Though a fun experience, robotics itself wasn’t what stayed with her most.
Her biggest takeaways?
Teamwork transcends borders.
Robotics can save lives.
Science touches every career.
Girls belong in global STEM spaces.
Beyond the technical skills, she learned the power of communication, the importance of flexibility, and what it means to trust her own abilities when facing new challenges.
She arrived in Panama as one of Team Tanzania’s young innovators, and returned home with a wider lens, new confidence, and a deeper commitment to her future.
As Vivian looks ahead to a career that merges robotics and cardiology, one truth is unmistakable:
The next generation of innovators is already here. And they simply need the chance to rise.
A blueprint for what’s possible for Girls in STEM
Vivian’s journey is not an isolated success story.
It is the natural outcome of SEGA’s model: a safe, affirming environment where girls are invited to explore, experiment, and see themselves as innovators. At SEGA, curiosity is encouraged. Failure is part of learning. Critical thinking is celebrated. And in a world that often withholds it, girls are given rare permission to imagine futures grounded in science and possibility.
“SEGA showed me what science can do in the world,” Vivian shared.
Her robotics journey is proof of what happens when a girl is given technology, mentorship, room to imagine, and a community that believes deeply in her potential. Vivian’s achievement is not only personal, it’s a glimpse of the future that becomes possible when girls have access to STEM pathways that are typically reserved for boys.
And SEGA is just getting started.
Support More Girls Like Vivian
In July 2026, SEGA will launch its first-ever Robo-Explorer Summer Program, a Robotics program expanding hands-on STEM opportunities for girls who, like Vivian, are ready to build, innovate, and lead.
“When I began learning robotics, I realized it isn’t just fun, it’s a way to solve real problems,” Vivian said.
If you believe in a future where more girls from under-resourced communities can discover the power of STEM, and see themselves in it, we invite you to be part of what comes next.
👉 Support SEGA’s 2026 Robo-Explorer Program
Help create pathways for the next generation of problem-solvers, engineers, and global leaders!