Weekly Media Roundup: June 26, 2019

Montana High School Students Participate in Summer Learning Program, NBC Montana (Montana)

Fifty high school students are getting a close-up look at science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research in a university setting at Montana Technological University’s Unite Summer Program in Butte. Students in the program work with Montana Tech faculty in one of six courses, and conduct research that they will present at a mini-symposium.  “It’s really about having them forecast their future and cement their dreams for a college education,” Amy Verlanic, executive director of Montana Tech’s Institute for Educational Opportunities, told NBC Montana.

Local Youth Get STEM Crazy at Summer Camp, Bonner County Daily Bee (Idaho)

In Lake Pend Oreille School District’s Summer STEM Camp in Sandpoint, Idaho, students entering first through sixth grade build rockets, work with drones, construct teepees, learn about knots and more. Created as an extension of the district’s 21st Century Community Learning Center afterschool program (21st CCLC), the camp connects science and engineering to real-world problems. “By exposure alone, we are giving our students a glimpse into fields they have never heard of… offering them a chance to dream about their future in ways they might have never knew existed otherwise,” Assistant Principal and 21st CCLC Director Betsy Dalessio told the Bonner County Daily Bee. “Our daily STEM challenges require teamwork, creativity, ingenuity, and problem-solving skills to complete successfully.”

Camp Boaz Brings Splash of Fun to Summer Learning, Sand Mountain Reporter (Alabama)

The theme of this year’s Camp Boaz summer program in Boaz, Alabama is “Kidcot” – a take on Disney’s ‘Epcot’ park – meaning students are learning about countries and cultures around the world. As part of the six-week program, more than 170 elementary students learn from certified teachers, swim, take educational field trips and play games. Students will show off what they’ve learned in a performance at the end of the program. “People ask me why I work during the summers, but I don’t look at it as work,” Director Mosley Renaé Mosley told the Sand Mountain Reporter. “I get up earlier in the summer and stay later too. But, we have a lot of fun. I love it. I can’t imagine us not doing it. So many people depend on it.”

Fairfax County Students Create Business Then Pitch Products in National Competition, WJLA (Virginia)

Students in Junior Achievement afterschool programs around the country gathered in Washington, DC last week to pitch their business ideas before a panel of judges at the organization’s National Student Leadership Summit competition. The program teaches students to build businesses from scratch, and they gain public speaking and problem-solving skills in the process. One team from Fairfax County, Virginia created a reusable straw to cut down on single-use plastics; a portion of the profits go to an organization that protects sea turtles. “[The program offers] us mentors, life lasting relationships, and they give us a safe place to build a company from the ground up,” 15-year-old Vishal Kanigicherla told WJLA.