Harlingen, TX (KRGV) — A Harlingen Collegiate High School senior has earned the top rank in her class and is heading toward a future in chemical engineering.

Cassie Banda has held the number 1 spot in her class since her freshman year. She spends much of her time in the school's engineering lab, where she builds and programs robots.

For the last two years, Banda has helped her school's Sea Perch team compete in an international underwater robotics competition in Washington, D.C.

Her interest in science and technology started early. 

"I did a lot of robotics when I was in elementary school, and once I got to middle school, I started taking some more STEM classes that interested me in things like architecture and problem solving," Banda said.

Campus Engineering Pathway Teacher Mercedes Espinoza has watched Banda push herself in and out of the classroom.

"Her passion for learning, for engineering, for just encompassing everything that she does. She is nonstop," Espinoza said.

Outside of school, Banda is one of her grandmother's main caretakers. Every weekend, she and her family help with transportation, manage her grandmother's diabetes, and track her insulin.

That experience has shaped her goals. Banda wants to one day help address diabetes-related issues in the Rio Grande Valley.

"Diabetes is such a very, very real concern for so many people in this school, in this community, in my family," Banda said.

She is considering the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University for her chemical engineering degree.

"I have family members on both sides, so I'm familiar with both campuses. We're just waiting to see who the better pick is for me," Banda said.

The women in her life have also driven her forward.

"My sister, my mother, my grandmas. Each of them was barred from education, especially because of their socioeconomic status, their race. And so I really want to push forward and make space for us in academic spaces where we haven't been allowed to be before," Banda said.

Her mother, Sandra Banda, said the family is proud.

"We are over the moon as a family, and I'm talking about uncles, aunts, extended family, grandparents. We see how motivated she's been since she was a young girl," Sandra Banda said.

Beyond academics, Banda serves as student council president, competes on the speech and debate team, and works as a student sideline reporter for football games.

Espinoza said Banda's willingness to step outside her comfort zone sets her apart. 

"I love how she just expands beyond her comfort zone. No matter what, she is just willing to try," Espinoza said.

This fall, Channel 5 News will be highlighting 10 students who shine in and out of the classroom.

The students have already been selected.

Click here for more Student of the Week stories.

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