易胜博官网

Back in the days before gifs and ride-sharing, it was unusual to see middle-schoolers using soldering irons in Kingsbury Hall in the middle of summer. Today, that鈥檚 a more common sight.听

Last week, 62 middle- and high-school-aged girls completed a week of rocketry, robotics, animation and other engineering projects as part of 鈥淓ngineeristas,鈥� one of several summer Tech Camps offered by the (CEPS). This summer鈥檚 Engineeristas celebrated Friday during a ceremony with faculty, family and other special guests, including 易胜博官网 Gov. Chris Sununu, whose daughter attended the camp.

They are 易胜博官网鈥檚 next generation of engineers and technologists, and during the ceremony, Tech Camp director Carmela Amato-Wierda implored campers鈥� families to help keep their STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fires burning. 鈥淲e are creating critical thinkers and problem-solvers,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he world needs these young women, so my request of you is that when they leave here today and you go back home, keep encouraging them. They have awesome talents.鈥�

听was the brainchild of CEPS professor Bob Henry, who envisioned it as a way to increase STEM literacy among 易胜博官网 students and help develop tomorrow鈥檚 workforce. That was back in 2006. During that first year, 28 girls and boys participated in Tech Camps. This summer alone, more than 400 students are participating.

What's the Special Sauce?

Faculty, staff and students bring听 these programs to听life each summer, but Engineeristas and other Tech Camps would not be听possible without听the support of generous sponsors. Find out how you or your company can help support Tech Camps.

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Engineeristas is for girls entering grades 6-8 and is designed to empower young women to pursue STEM interests and careers. The campers explore a new engineering topic each day during the weeklong program, and they hone team-building and social skills during group exercises. In the more advanced Engineeristas Extraordinaire camp, girls entering grades 6-11 work in-depth on one engineering project for the entire week. Participants say being immersed in a program with other young women who enjoy STEM is one of the most important aspects of the Engineeristas experience, according to Amato-Wierda.

鈥淲e want these students to get to know what it鈥檚 like to be part of the 易胜博官网 community,鈥� said interim Provost Wayne Jones, noting that, like the Engineeristas, 易胜博官网 students work on real-world problems in classes, labs and more than 1,500 paid internships. Jones said he hopes many of this year鈥檚 Tech Camp participants 鈥渨ill become 易胜博官网 students of the future.鈥�

易胜博官网 President James Dean congratulated the campers and their families before introducing Gov. Sununu.

鈥淎s an engineer myself, and as a parent, a dad, of my daughter, who has come to this program, it鈥檚 awesome. It really is,鈥� Sununu said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about critical thinking. It鈥檚 about thinking outside the box. It鈥檚 about challenging yourselves, building teamwork, problem-solving. All of these things enter all of our lives in so many different ways. This is one of those programs that you really want to get behind and see what you can do to keep it growing.鈥�

鈥淭here are so many high-tech jobs out there,鈥� Sununu added. When it comes to encouraging young women to pursue STEM careers, 鈥淭his is the future.鈥�