Massive Growth in SUU/BZI Youth Engineering Academy
Published: August 20, 2024 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Southern Utah University/BZI Youth Engineering Academy (YEA), a summer camp hosted by the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences and sponsored by BZI Steel, just celebrated a second triumphant season that saw a participation increase of 650% from the previous year. This rapid growth indicates the program's success in educating and raising interest in science and engineering with local youth.
“The growth of the camps from 160 students to over 1,200 in a year shows the demand by parents and kids in the community to have access to more STEM enrichment opportunities, specifically with a pathway that allows them to see different fields that they don’t typically experience in traditional K12 curricula,” said Dean of the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences, Dr. Jeffrey Miller. "The support of local businesses and individuals has helped us to keep the cost low to allow anyone to attend.
YEA sponsors also include Align Precision; Marci Staudt; Guardsight; High Desert Cleaning Company; Zonos; RAM Aviation, Space & Defense; and Iron County School District. It introduces kids from kindergarten to 12th grade to engineering and computational sciences through hands-on, interactive experiences. This year they offered summer camp courses in Scratch Programming, Robotics, Web Development, Cryptography, Laser Cutting, 3D Printing, Python, and a new partner course with Theater.
The 2024 season brought about other achievements in addition to the remarkable growth of the program. In total, 34% of participants were girls, nearly twice the national average for female graduates in STEM, and 53% of attendees between the ages of five to seven were female.
The camps are taught by trained teachers or upperclassmen who have extensive experience working with children. Instructors also use SUU students as teaching assistants to help them in the classroom and maintain an overall ratio of 1:8 for teachers to students. Every teacher and teaching assistant is required to pass background checks and receive training in classroom management and the specific topics they are teaching.
SUU/BZI YEA hopes to introduce the youth to engineering and computer science while encouraging them to fight stereotypes and boost their confidence in STEM. The four main goals of the summer program include safety, fun, learning, and experience. All YEA camps are run on the University's campus and consequently have the added benefit of exposing participants to life on campus. SUU YEA strives to empower all students regardless of demographic to recognize their potential for pursuing careers in engineering fields.
SUU/BZI Youth Engineering Academy registrations for summer 2025 begin in January.
Tags: Campus College of Engineering and Computational Sciences Community
Contact Information:
Brooke Heath
4355865400
brookeheath1@suu.edu