Kayla Pagan built these solar-powered car models as a middle school student. Today, as a Tampa Electric engineer, she helps students build confidence and develop skills that will shape tomorrow's workforce.
What kind of middle school student builds solar-powered cars?
Someone with a passion for robotics, engineering and innovation.
Someone like Kayla Pagan.
Kayla's passion for hands-on learning started in her middle school classroom. Today, she's a Tampa Electric engineer who helps design transmission infrastructure that moves electricity across the grid, playing an important role in delivering reliable power to our customers.
Engineering that serves our communities is rewarding, and so is building solar-powered cars.
So it's no surprise that outside of work, Kayla volunteers as a mentor for the robotics team that first sparked her interest: the Vibots, a middle school robotics team serving students in the Tampa Bay area.
Kayla's story shows how robotics programs and mentorship can help students develop the technical and personal skills they need to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
It Computes: Robotics Is Fun and Creative
As a middle school student, Kayla Pagan competed with the Vibots, holding the team’s robotics competition entry as she collaborated with her teammates.
Robotics combines designing, building, testing and competition. Along the way, students practice problem-solving, teamwork, communication and resilience.
"Robotics gave me my first hands-on experience applying engineering concepts in a fun, creative way," Kayla said.
And today, she's helping students navigate robotics competitions, engineering challenges and personal growth.
"I've seen students come in shy and quiet, but over time grow into confident individuals who are willing to speak up and try new ideas on their own," Pagan said. "It's been incredible to watch that transformation."
Beyond Robots: The Human Side of Innovation
Kayla Pagan, left, with members of the Vibots team at the 2026 USF Engineering Expo, where Tampa Electric employees joined the event to support the next generation of STEM professionals.
While robotics is about technology, people make the experience meaningful. Mentors like Kayla encourage students to explore, create, work together and keep going when something doesn't work the first time.
For the next generation of innovators, that guidance may be the most powerful technology of all.
"Some of my favorite moments with the students come after competitions. The outcome of the event doesn't matter as long as they tried their best and learned from the experience — we always make it a point to have fun as a team and remind ourselves why we do this. It's really about teamwork, growth and enjoying the journey together."