The U.S. Naval Academy's Summer Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) program for middle school students, designed to expose youth to career opportunities in these areas of study, began June 6.
The program is divided into modules that can be tailored to meet the needs of students. They include summer camp-type activities such as riding Yard Patrol boats, overnight camps, classroom activities, girls’ day camps and trips to the Science, Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.
D.C. student Alicia Gavin described one of these trips.
"It was really cool to watch an IMAX movie about the Hubble telescope,” she said.
Although science and math are Gavin's weak subjects, her experience at the camp will help her to improve.
"It's a great foundation to be a leader in class next year," she said.
Other modules expose students to futuristic labs, including flight and sea simulators, robotics, hydrodynamics, biometrics, satellite and oceanography sessions.
Midshipman 1st Class Taimoor Raja, who serves as the academic company executive officer, is responsible for coordinating labs and ensuring demos are ready to go.
"Everything is hands-on," said Raja. "It's geared toward developing their interest. There is a whole scope of different programs and hopefully one or the other may click in their brain."
"It was a lot of fun. I'm really big into photography, and seeing how lenses are made, to figure out the formulas for focal lengths, is really interesting," said Jonathan Leyva, a student from Texas.
The academy is an ideal location for the STEM camp and can play a role in shaping students’ interest in attending, said Professor Angela Moran.
“If they’re interested, they’ll pick up on that, but the main idea is to get the kids interested in science and engineering,” she said.
Moran also pointed out that the program’s admissions process takes a broad look at screening prospective students and makes a strong effort to serve the under-represented population, both domestic and internationally.
"It broadens your horizons to the world. If you've never been to a place, you have to rely mostly on what you've heard from people around you and the news. Once you have a feel for it, you stop generalizing,” Raja said.
Many people think that the Academy is military training only, but when the mids graduate from USNA engineering programs, they graduate with a full engineering degree.
"I think it's a really great program for kids who are really set on their future and want to exceed their expectations," said Justin Edwards, a Georgia native.
Moran believes that awareness about what engineers do to make the world a better place is very important in developing students’ interest in the science and engineering fields.
“If I’ve changed a kid’s perspective [to consider engineering as a career], that’s success to me,” Moran said.
Additionally, she emphasized that anyone who is passionate about learning and teaching can get involved.
“We do outreach to the local community,” she said. “We use faculty, mids and anybody who is willing to contribute.”
