This summer, Belmont’s College of Sciences and Mathematics (CSM) expanded its outreach opportunities for high school students.
In addition to the third year of the “Research Intensive Summer Experience in Data Science” (RISE-DS) program, CSM offered four other week-long summer camps in disciplines across the college: “Game Design and Programming,” “Unlock Advanced Mathematical Problem Solving,” “Applied Physics and Engineering at Work” and “From Brain to Behavior at Belmont.”
Even in its inaugural year with multiple camps, the impact on students is already shining through. One participant in the RISE-DS camp highlighted the impact of the camp on her view of science. “I learned the world of STEM isn’t as scary as many make it out to be. This entire course confirmed that I made the right choice in what I want to do and that I’ve found my people,” she said.
In the RISE-DS program, students explore data science through a hands-on project while also taking a college-level statistics class. Professor of Mathematics and RISE-DS Co-director Dr. Christina Davis stated, “The purpose of RISE is to give high school students a taste of college-level research and coursework while working together with their peers. Teaching students these skills in an immersive, daily environment allows them to naturally build up confidence and good habits before they start college.”
Belmont faculty were excited for the chance to expand their research classes to younger students. “Developing a camp in which I get to show adolescents why psychology is fun and how it applies to everyday life was something that interested me immediately,” said Dr. Abigail Heller, assistant professor of developmental psychology and director of the “From Brain to Behavior at Belmont” camp.
Heller continued, “Through hands-on activities like a sheep brain dissection and lectures spanning neurons to social thinking, I hope students learned the nature of scientific inquiry and gained an appreciation for the complex ways in which theory, research and practice combine to influence individuals and groups.”
Senior neuroscience major Savannah Campbell volunteered at the camp – a cause close to her heart since participating in a similar camp in high school helped her make the decision to pursue science in college. “I feel like I have a lot of insight to share with this age group. My mom is a first-generation college student, and I learned everything about this whole college process from her – but a lot of people may not have that,” she explained. “I want to be there to help answer common questions like ‘what’s a credit hour?’ as well as share my love for science.”
Many of the high school students are excited to bring lessons learned back to their respective schools to develop STEM communities there, too. “I feel inspired to create more video games and plan to bring this knowledge to my school by creating a video game development club,” said a student in the “Game Design and Programming” camp.
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Beyond science experiments, students spent time at camp exploring their college goals. Through a college tour and admissions talk, students learned about different values and gained a perspective on what they should consider in their college search.
Davis added, “I love this camp because the high school students are at an exciting moment in their lives where they are trying on different career personas and sampling what they really feel passionate about. To be able to introduce them to what’s possible within our fields and at Belmont, and see their excitement to engage, is really special.”
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