2026 ROAR Ambassadors
We are thrilled to announce our new 2026 ROAR Ambassadors: Advay Bansal, Aaron Chen, Micah Chen, Youssef Khalafalla, and Laura Wang.
Our 2026 Ambassadors will work closely with ROAR faculty, graduate students, and research teams to bring the ROAR experience to their respective high schools. With our technical and financial support, they will take on leadership roles in expanding ROAR’s reach, mentoring peers, promoting AI and autonomous driving education, and fostering innovation and collaboration within their school communities.
Advay Bansal,
Sophomore at Emerald High School (Dublin, California)
Advay Bansal is a sophomore at Emerald High School in Dublin, California. He attended the 2025 ROAR Academy and placed 1st in the Summer 2025 ROAR Simulation Racing Series. Advay also plays chess competitively, and is currently a Fide Master. In his free time, Advay enjoys playing sports like basketball and tennis with his friends, and also plays the piano.
Aaron Chen,
Senior at Oakton High School (Vienna, Virginia)
Aaron Chen is a senior at Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia. He has been competing in the ROAR Simulation Racing Series since Summer 2022. He both competes in and mentors middle school teams for Cyber Patriots, and plays for Oakton Ice Hockey and OHS’s marching and concert bands.
Micah Chen,
Junior at Hong Kong International School
Micah Chen is a junior at Hong Kong International School. He participated in the 2025 ROAR Academy and the Summer 2025 Simulation Racing Series. At school, he is actively involved in the VEX Robotics Team and the Environmental Service Club. Outside of school, he enjoys playing badminton and basketball with friends and working on small coding projects.
Youssef Khalafalla,
Senior at John C Kimball High School (Tracy, California)
Youssef Khalafalla is a senior at John C Kimball High School in Tracy, California. He attended the 2025 ROAR Academy and ranked third in the summer 2025 ROAR simulation racing series. Youssef is the lead developer of Roblox games with over 110 million visitors, and developed an English learning webapp for a charitable organization. He is currently volunteering in a UCLA Physics lab writing Python and MATLAB code, and visual analysis on EEG data taken from epileptic patients during seizures. He is a member of his school’s math club, mock trial team, and track and field team. In his free time, he enjoys playing squash and jogging.
Laura Wang,
Junior at Aragon High School (San Mateo, California)
Laura Wang is a junior at Aragon High School in San Mateo, CA. She participated in the 2025 ROAR Academy and competed in the Summer 2025 Simulation Racing Series. She is active in several STEM clubs, including the Math Club and Robotics Club. Her robotics team won the Create Award at the 2025 VEX AI World Championship. Beyond STEM, Laura volunteers for SAT tutoring, robotics outreach events, and supports students through the Aragon Tutor Club and Bright Horizon Chinese School. She also serves as concertmaster of the Aragon Chamber Orchestra and assistant concertmaster of the Peninsula Youth Orchestra. In her free time, she enjoys playing violin, hiking, and staring at her birds.