Brillantes 2026

Brilliance in San Antonio

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Brillantes sparks an interest in STEM

Background & Introduction

A defining aspect of the Manos de Dios ministry is our breadth of programs as well as the depth with which we execute our programming. One of our proudest accomplishments is being able to partner with great institutions such as UTSA, IEEE and Texas State University who have come together to make the “Brillantes” program a part of our work. “Brillantes”, literally “brilliants” or “bright ones” highlights the importance of early introduction to STEM learning so that all students everywhere can have the opportunity to discover their talents and passions in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Brillantes shines a light for so many who often keep their gifts and interests hidden due to life circumstances. By being that light, Brillantes becomes a light at the end of the tunnel for so many people, societies, and our future. Through this program, leaders are made and the future is born.

Brillantes in Honduras

Over the past five years, The Brillantes Program  has taken place in Danli, Honduras with different middle school cohorts of 25-30 students each year. We have been able to include in the Brillantes Program not only our Manos scholarship students, but also middle school students from a remote village called El Porvenir where education does not go past the ninth grade. Participating students  engage in a five-week program coordinated by a mathematics teacher and Manos college students providing intense and fun hands-on learning experiences with integrated early algebraic concepts and connections when solving engineering problems with relevance to the community. Through our partnership with Texas universities and IEEE, Manos has become involved in a cross-generational culture that celebrates STEM. We now have professionals in STEM fields who are excited about teaching the next generations of students about these careers as well as guiding them as professionals when the moment comes. We have never been more excited about the possibilities that exist with students teaching students!

Brillantes in Texas

This year, thanks to the continued support of IEEE and UT San Antonio, we were able to expand the Brillantes Program to serve middle school students in San Antonio (San Antonio Brilliantes!).  San Antonio Brilliantes! was based on the successful Brillantes! curriculum developed and piloted in Danli, Honduras. The adaptation focused on Texas learning standards (TEKS) in science and engineering practices and middle school math for 7th-8th grade students. The integrated hands-on activities featured electrical engineering, robotics, and machine learning hands-on activities. The educational components included Snap Circuits® to help introduce students to basic engineering, electronics and circuitry concepts. In addition, the course incorporated a “Raspberry Pi” and “Sphero Mini Robot” learning module as a foundational, low-cost tool to teach the students, programming, automation, robotics, and concepts from the Internet of Things (IoT).  

Brillantes San Antonio was held as a 3-day STEM Spring Break camp at the Castroville High School campus to twenty middle school students led by Dr. Araceli Martinez Ortiz and  two UT San Antonio  Engineering Education Graduate students and experienced public school teachers.

Hand in hand with Manos’s philosophy about raising the next generation despite language & socio-economic, Brillantes’s efforts in Texas assures us that our future at home is in good hands and that the next generation of Manos de Dios Texas leadership is guaranteed to have the know-how on how to bring about STEM-impacts and change.

Special Thanks

Our partnerships are essential to changing the world and just as academic and professional careers are rapidly expanding, so should our friends in those areas. We are grateful to our friends at UT San Antonio, Texas State University, and IEEE for all of the differences that they have made and hope to reciprocate the outpouring of consideration and care that they have towards students everywhere. Thank you!