2021 Future STEM Leaders Camp @ Washington State Community College
July 26th - August 5th
by Brad Lanier, FSL Camp Director and OVESC Director of Teaching & Learning
Eighteen Shenandoah and Belpre students in grades 8th through 12th spent two weeks this summer attending The Future STEM Leaders Camp @ Washington State Community College. It was a great opportunity for students to be exposed to dozens of possible STEM careers and sciences while earning high school semester credits in STEM Exploration class and Physical Education. FSL Camp Director Brad Lanier stated, “We have two main goals for the students: Let them know about the many exciting STEM careers they can choose and start building the mentoring relationships they may need to make their STEM future a reality.”
To support those goals camp participants got to build and keep their own Raspberry Pi computer and Mbot robot, plus learn how to code with them for the camp engineering challenge. Students also did several other STEM activities, listened to more than twenty area STEM professionals, and went on multiple field trips including the amazing Building Bridges to Careers’ Makerspace facility.
Two of our FSL Camp teachers weighed in on the impact of the first year camp. Noble Local Science Teacher Ashley Hayes stated, "Our students were thrilled to be a part of the Future STEM Leaders Camp! During the camp, our Zeps were able to showcase their leadership, communication, problem solving, and creativity skills. I'm proud of all the students, families, and staff that worked with the camp team to make our first year such a great success." Belpre Science Teacher and Assistant FSL Camp Director Kouree Chesser further stated, "Seeing our students engaged, collaborating with others, and enjoying their learning was a heartening experience as a teacher. Every day the students were ready to learn and participate in the activities and everyone obtained new skills to take back to their classrooms, homes, and their future. I'm very thankful for having the opportunity to work with such a wonderful group of students and staff to pull this off."
All of this was possible thanks to funding from both the Washington County and Noble County Departments of Jobs and Family services, along with the partnership between The Ohio Valley ESC, Washington State Community College, and Building Bridges to Careers. Our partners and camp staff are looking forward to doing it all again in 2022 and expanding the opportunity to 4 or 5 districts.