Inspiring young scientists and engineers

In March, we sent a group of our Advocates to Jonestown, Mississippi to hold a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education camp for local students. We’d like to share their story with you. Why it Matters A strong background in math and science is increasingly important for obtaining a good job in the United States. Unfortunately, many children growing up in areas with underfunded public schools do not receive a thorough STEM education. This is especially true in the Mississippi Delta region, where we started this program. We designed our STEM camp to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers in the Mississippi Delta by providing them with an engaging educational experience, as well as mentorship from our Advocates enrolled in university STEM programs. Running the Camp This spring, we sponsored our camp with our local partners at CDRAC, which runs the community center where the camp took place. Each morning, the Advocates gave the students a team-based engineering challenge designed to teach them basic STEM concepts. The children then competed in groups to demonstrate their mastery of the concepts. Throughout the week, the children also worked 1-on-1 with our Advocates. What the Students Learned Our goal was to inspire a love of science in the students, encouraging them to enjoy learning and stay in school. Many of this camp’s students had also participated in the camp last summer, and were much more enthusiastic this time around. As we continue our expeditions to Jonestown, we will continue to nurture the ambitions of these young scientists and engineers. With the help of supporters like you, we hope to spread our STEM teaching and mentorship initiatives throughout the country.

Want to help? Click here to learn more about our work and invest in this program, as well as many others. More photos of the Jonestown expedition are posted on our Photo Gallery page.

Advocate Olivia Gaughan helps her groups build their tinfoil boat for the daily engineering challenge

Advocates and campers show off their tinfoil boat