Santa Monica Students Take Classroom AI Skills to the Vatican
Two high school students from Santa Monica are trading their California classroom for the Pope’s summer residence this week, putting their artificial intelligence skills to work on a real-world technology project at one of the Catholic Church’s most historic sites.
Felix Figueroa, a senior, and Olivia Rogers, a junior at Saint Monica Preparatory, traveled to Castel Gandolfo, Italy, to help design and test a location-based tour app and improved ticketing system for Borgo Laudato Si’, the Vatican’s living laboratory for integral ecology housed on the roughly 135-acre papal estate about 20 miles southeast of Rome. They were accompanied by engineering teacher and STEM Academy Dean Roland Labana and Dean of Spirituality and Faith Formation Suzette Sornborger.
The timing carries its own symbolism. The trip coincides with Holy Week, and with Pope Leo XIV’s customary Tuesday visits to the grounds.