Registration Opens For The Engineering Institute for Young Women and Men

As the snow melts and the seasons change, students begin to arrange their plans for the summer. Starting in July, Niskayuna’s very own Engineering Institute for Young Women as well as Engineering Institute for Young Men will be hosting summer camps for grade levels 7 through 9. Both camps offer a variety of fun and engaging “STEAM”-based activities which are designed to stimulate one’s interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and math. The camp starts on July 8th (for girls) or July 19th (for boys), and students will meet at the high school from 8:30am to 2:30pm each day (the fee is $250). Transportation and lunches will not be provided, so students will have to make plans for themselves. Registration is now open for both camps until April 29th, or until all 40 spots are filled.

While the themes and specific details of the camps this year haven’t been announced yet, creative ideas from past years can give students a general concept of what the summer of 2022 will look like. The Engineering Institute for Young Women was first established in 2012 and theme-based activities in recent years included tasking students to “design and implement an action plan to control a disease outbreak”, “retrieve sensitive data from a crashed Mars satellite”, or “design an eco park for the town of Niskayuna”. In 2020, despite Covid restrictions and quarantine mandates, the camp still ran remotely with the theme of “STEAM Olympics”, where the girls ran mock-Olympics simulations by writing code and building with materials and tools mailed to each attendee. The girls’ camp strives to break STEM stereotypes and the camp’s partnership with GE allows the girls to visit the GE Global Research Center campus (though not in 2020 due to the pandemic), where they have the opportunity to speak to GE employees from multiple facilities and fields. “You don’t have to be worried about doing things wrong because everyone fails a bit,” sophomore Kelsey Gerstler said, reflecting on her experience at the camp (she was an eighth grader at the time she attended). Another past participant, sophomore Rojan Javaheri said “[the camp] introduces you to so many new things that I didn't know were a thing.”

A former camper Hillary Htun—interviewed by Kristal Lin—also shared her general thoughts and experiences about the 2019, “retrieve sensitive data from a crashed Mars satellite-themed” camp:

Hillary Htun: “I thought it was really interesting! There were definitely a lot of activities that really had me invested in them. I remember virtually landing a space shuttle, making parachutes with a team, coding, and at the end of the camp, we even went to GE. At GE, we could ask questions to women working in STEM, which was also intriguing. I would say that because of the camp, my interest in STEM increased considerably. I ended up taking DDP in freshman year to expand my knowledge in the field.”

Htun remembers how supportive the teachers and student helpers were, and a piece of advice she learned there from middle school English teacher and one of the directors of the camp, Frank Adamo, has stuck with her for years: “figure it out!”. She explained how no matter how counterproductive it seemed, ultimately it was beneficial: “not only do you get more creative liberty, but the camp became a more accurate representation of STEM.” In the end, Htun sincerely recommends attending the camp to all girls who have the time to, and noted that “in case the idea of talking to new people is intimidating, I would recommend going with your friends—given how fascinating it was, it's absolutely worth going to.”

Although registration is only limited to 40 people, there will be a wait-list and anyone interested will still be considered. Observing the trends of past years, the themes and most activities are the same or very similar for both girls and boys, allowing all students to share their enthusiasm and experiences with each other. Overall, the camps not only generate a fun environment, but they may also potentially inspire a brilliant future in the STEM field! For questions, contact Engineering Institute Coordinator Thomas Delancey at tdelancey@niskyschools.org or the Institute Registrar Amanda Vickerson at avickerson@niskyschools.org . We look forward to full registration and a great week in July!