Skip to Main Content
Menu
Roane State Community CollegeRoane State Community College

Roane State Community College

News
  1. RSCC HomeRSCC Home
  2. About Roane State
  3. Public Relations
  4. News
Move Forward. Don't delay your future! Apply now! Register for online or traditional classes.Move Forward. Don't delay your future! Apply now!. Register for online or traditional classes.
Tennessee Reconnect and Promise. Graduating high school seniors can attend tuition-free. Free tuition for adults.Tennessee Reconnect and Promise. Graduating high school seniors can attend tuition-free. Free tuition for adults.
Online degrees available. Choose from seven completely online programs.Online degrees available. Choose from seven completely online programs.

News: Verizon Innovative Learning STEM camp at Roane State inspires students

Participants in the Verizon Foundation’s STEM camp at Roane State Community College’s Cumberland County campus were excited to receive their camp T-shirts, which they proudly wore throughout the camp.

July 28, 2017

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. – Fifty middle school girls from four counties took a fun-filled, three-week STEM camp at Roane State’s Cumberland County campus to learn about their possible futures in STEM careers.

It’s a pilot program of Verizon Innovative Learning, an initiative of the Verizon Foundation, and it’s an effort to acquaint girls with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Five community colleges in rural areas across the nation were involved in the effort, and Roane State was the only community college in Tennessee that received an invitation to participate. Students from Cumberland, Roane, Putnam and Fentress counties participated.

Women are woefully underrepresented in STEM careers, officials with Verizon said. Men have 86 percent of all engineering jobs, and 74 percent of computer professionals are males.

The campers in the free program learned the basics of 3D printing, coding, augmented reality and creating a business. They are also went on field trips, to Tennessee Tech in Cookeville and the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in Knoxville.

One camper at first thought the only scientific career available to her was in NASA, said Holly Hanson, director of Roane State’s Cumberland County campus. “She now knows there are thousands of opportunities,” Hanson said.

Participants in the Verizon Foundation’s STEM summer camp for middle school girls at Roane State’s Cumberland County campus show off the unique greeting they created during the three-week event. From left: Kalaisha Ralphs, Lillian Hajny, Cheyenne Wiggins, Ellie Strong, Serenity Driscoll and Kaylee Vardy.

The campers gave enthusiastic reviews. “I didn’t want the weekend,” camper Lillian Hajny said. “I cried when I couldn’t come to camp.”

Another participant, Kalaisha Ralphs, called the camp “really fun and awesome,” while Kaylee Vardy said it has reinforced her plans to become a video game designer.

“I’ve actually learned a lot, and it’s really fun,” Serenity Driscoll said. “Some things I’ve never done before, like coding,” she said. “This is helping me choose a career in STEM.”

Hanson oversaw the all-day camp, while highly trained educators created thought-provoking classes to keep campers enthralled and enthusiastic.

The girls created business names and logos, many of them linked to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. They researched careers in 3D printing and designed the “telecommunications device of the future.”

They’re also brainstormed other inventions, from high-tech water filtration systems to seats for the disabled that extend out of vehicles.

Participants will continue updating their camp goals during monthly meetings over the next year. They also get to keep their Verizon-issued iPads, complete with Internet access through that telecommunications company.

This year, Verizon launched #weneedmore, an effort to bring more attention to the critical need for more kids to see the world of possibilities waiting for them in STEM fields.

Learn more at www.weneedmore.com.

Connect with us

Twitter / XFacebookInstagramThreadsYoutube
© Roane State Community College

Roane State Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity or national origin, sex, disability, age, status as protected veteran or any other class protected by Federal or State laws and regulation and by Tennessee board of Regents policies with respect to employment, programs, and activities.​​​​​​​ View full non-discrimination policy.

Tennessee's Community Colleges

Report Fraud, Waste and Abuse

Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998