Middle Schoolers Get Taste of College, Engineering at ExxonMobil Camp

Fifty middle school students from across Arkansas will get a taste of college and rigorous, hands-on science and math experiences at the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp at UALR July 11 to 17 at the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Science (EIT). The fifth, sixth, and seventh grade students were selected for the camps for their outstanding science and math aptitude. The ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp (BHSSC) is a free, academic program of The Harris Foundation, which takes an active role in shaping education in students entering middle school grades this fall. Harris, the first African American to walk in space, is founder and president of the Harris Foundation and is on the board of directors for the National Math and Science Initiative. UALR is the only university in Arkansas selected to conduct the elite program organized by the astronaut’s Harris Foundation and funded by ExxonMobil. Only 30 American universities were selected to host the camp. The students will live in the UALR residence halls during the week and participate in classes in technology, mathematics, English, chemistry, and biology ─ some in the newly opened EIT building. The students will also be presented with engineering problems to solve. At a previous camp session, the students built a model raft out of two pieces of aluminum foil and four plastics straws and calculated how many pennies each raft could support. The UALR campers – 25 girls and 25 boys – will participate in activities and work with renowned scientists and researchers at EIT. Campers submitted applications and were selected based on their grades, standardized test scores, and teacher recommendations. The camp program was originally developed as a collaborative effort of the Harris Foundation, the Houston Independent School District, the University of Houston, and the Southwestern Oklahoma State University to support historically underserved and underrepresented students with limited opportunities. Students attending the camp are: Colton Andrews of Scott David Arnold of Conway Srisaipranav Bande of Little Rock Ashley Barto of Greenwood Meshijah Beazley of Elkins Devin Bennett of Rogers Jack Bowen of Lonoke Carly Branch of Mount Ida Christian Broughton of Pine Bluff Robert Cain of North Little Rock Braylon Camper of Little Rock Dniel Capello of Little Rock Tyler Cothern of Bigelow Bonnie Davis of Little Rock Lanie Davis of Benton Kyndall Delph of North Little Rock Elena Dilligham of North Little Rock Layne Efird of Hot Springs Mya Ellington-Williams of North Little Rock Christopher Emerson of McGehee Nadya Ferguson of Rockport Keishaun Green of Beebe Morgan Holloman of Little Rock Reana Johnson of Fayetteville Ryan Johnson of Fayetteville Kate Kwasny of Springdale Eli LaSalle of Greenwood Michael Leiterman of Little Rock Rohan Manjanatha of Little Rock Darrah Maxfield of North Little Rock Matthew Means of Little Rock Sydnei Miller of Little Rock Jung-min Min of Little Rock Ashten Moss of Stuttgart Allison Page of Rogers Marissa Penning of Little Rock Madison Perry-Campbell of Little Rock My’Kael Poole of Sherwood Mark Robinson of Marianna Joshua Rodriguez of Blevins Daniel Seo of Little Rock Brendon Song of Little Rock David Steele of Bauxite Jenette Stobaugh of Little Rock Miya Tatum of Cabot Baylee Tims of Floral Alexis Whitten of Pine Bluff Brandon Wilburn of Little Rock