Camp Infinity encourages girls to grow in STEM

Olivia Cudney was one of three girls in her middle school robotics class. Last year at Camp Infinity, she found a community of peers just like her and learned how to build and program a robot. Now she’s back as a high schooler to learn JavaScript and how to code. This week, Camp Infinity welcomes her and twenty other girls to their first ever science and technology camp designed for high school.

“I loved learning how to program robots. My friend and I trained ours to stay within a designated box,” says Cudney. “We used a computer program to teach it to stop whenever the sensors picked up the white line. That was really cool.”

On Monday, July 23, twenty one girls gathered at Saginaw Valley State University for a week long immersion in STEM and other technology-related fields. They come from all over the Great Lakes Bay Region, some even making the trek from Detroit or rural areas like Huron County. As part of Camp Infinity, the girls will spend the week learning how to code, becoming familiar with JavaScript and building their own website.

Genie Davis, MCWT instructor during the camp at SVSU.

Started last year, Camp Infinity is the product of a collaboration between the Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation (MCWT), Dow Chemical, IBM, Microsoft and SVSU, the camp’s host. The camp’s mission is to immerse girls to the STEM and technology world starting from a young age.

“We want to get them exposed early, so they have ideas about what they might want to do once they get to college. Research shows that if students find more engagement early on, they are much more likely to graduate,” says Dr. Betsy Diegel, STEM Mobile Lab Coordinator and Camp Infinity Director. “Even if it is one student at a time, or one learning experience at a time, we’re dedicated to keeping that spark of curiosity ignited.”

Dr. Betsy Diegel, STEM Mobile Lab Coordinator at SVSU.

Inside Gilbertson Hall, the girls are hard at work, as they start outlining and coding the first few pages of their website. During the course of the week, students will spend time programming in the computer labs, tour SVSU’s campus, experience SVSU’s STEM Mobile Laboratory and participate in hands on technology demonstrations with virtual reality, drones and robotic arms.

“It’s so much more than the computer lab experience,” adds Diegel. “Our hope is that something they see or hear during this week will inspire and empower them to reach for STEM-related fields.”

Camp Infinity learns to about and gets to fly mini drones at SVSU.

Whether it is the camp counselors, instructors or featured speakers — such as Dow Chemical’s Chief Information Officer Melanie Kalmar — the girls spend the week surrounded by female role models who are passionate about science and technology.

“It’s so beneficial for girls to realize that there are others just like me, that I don’t have to hide or pretend I don’t like computer science or technology,” says Adrienne Cole, Director of STEM at SVSU. “It was having strong female role models along the way that empowered and encouraged me to go into STEM. They made me realize I could do anything the boys could do.”

Girls learned to code, Javascript principles and website design.

In an industry where women are still sparse at higher level positions, being able to interact with women in manager and director level roles is particularly impactful.

“When I started, nearly twenty five years ago, I often found that I was the only female in the room. Sometimes it was hard to break into the conversation and have the courage to ensure my voice was included,” says Beth Wendling, IT Employee Experience Services Client Interface Director at Dow Chemical. “It’s important to invest in girls at a young age to help them know that they can be great in IT. This is why I spend time doing STEM events, to encourage females of all ages to get involved with technology.”

Beth Wendling, IT Employee Experience Services Interface Director with Dow.

In 2017, Dow became a Diamond Elite Partner of the MCWT Foundation, supporting their mission to “inspire and grow women in technology” in the Great Lakes Bay Region. In addition to programming and initiatives like Camp Infinity, MCWT offers scholarships and mentoring in an effort to cultivate a diverse IT workforce within Michigan.

“We’ll have students tell us the hour they spend coding is their favorite part of the day during summer vacations,” says Cole. “No matter who it is, seeing them have that ‘aha’ moment in a STEM experience is the most energizing part for me; it’s seeing that excitement about whatever activity or problem they are working on.”

Olivia Cudney sits in classroom instruction. Th girls completed hands on projects and heard from local women leaders.

The day camp runs from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Monday through Friday culminating in a final presentation for friends and family at the end of the week. The $75 cost is all inclusive, covering lunch, snacks, supplies and plenty of instruction and mentorship. A limited number of scholarships are offered which reduce the cost to $25.

“We don’t require any special credentials to enroll in this camp,” says Diegel. “We focus on trying to meet the girls where they are at to offer a challenging and meaningful learning experience for all students, no matter what your prior experience is.”

This isn’t the only outreach program SVSU administers. A Chief Science Officer program encourages youth to fill leadership roles within their schools and be advocates for science. A Mobile Laboratory brings STEM to the classroom, offering day long immersions and demonstrations to complement science standards and curriculum.

Dow Chemical hosts a hands on technology demonstration at the camp.

“It’s a full immersion experience on our laboratory for the day,” says Diegel. “Students are exposed to microscopes and simple experiments, and we spend a day doing live demonstrations and getting excited about STEM fields.”

The Mobile Laboratory is available by request only for schools in the surrounding area and is designed to “expose students to modern scientific research, hands-on experiments, and environmental studies.” Teachers, administrators and staff can inquire about the lab by submitting a request to stem@svsu.edu.

Girls from around the state came to Camp Infinity at SVSU.

“It is exciting to see our partnerships continue to strengthen in the community,” adds Diegel. “We are in such a unique area with Dow Chemical and other manufacturing businesses. There is a lot of great work to be done in this region when it comes to STEM, and we want to be at the forefront of that.”