The Texas Southern University/Verizon Innovative Learning for Minority Males summer program has completed week two of the four-week initiative, which began on June 6. Camp participants were awarded certificates in a special ceremony on June 17 at the H&PE Arena that was attended by parents and family members.
Boys, ranging in age from 11 to 17, are being introduced to 3D modeling and mobile application development. The camp is a partnership between Verizon and TSU to guide minority males at the middle-school level into pursuing a college education and future STEM careers. The Minority Male summer program is designed to showcase opportunities in coding, application development, 3D printing, and other STEM-related options.
Parents and family members of camp participants were invited to the H&PE Arena on June 17 for a graduation ceremony. The class of 48 boys filed in to a recorded march by TSU’s Ocean of Soul.
Roynal Gallow, a camp participant, said, “Our professors and mentors were great. They taught us how to make 3-D figures, fly airplanes and make apps. I learned that 3-D printing takes a lot of time, but that is because of the base and structure that you have to create. It takes 45 minutes to an hour to do one.”
Campers toured TSU’s Forensics Science Lab and the flight simulator for the Aviation Flight Management program, and Verizon’s Houston headquarters.
“The program has exceeded my expectations so far,” said camp teacher Vince Hamilton, who focused on mobile apps. “Initially, I wasn’t sure if the students would be open to learning the material, but they caught on right away and produced three to four workable mobile apps in a week. My goal was to teach them a skill that they could put on their permanent record.”
The Texas Southern University/Verizon Innovative Learning for Minority Males summer program is directed by Rodney Bush and the camp curriculum is led by Dr. Jesse Horner and Hamilton, with guidance by Ryan Farmer, Marcel Cooks, Grate Baedee, Johaf (Amir) Chowdhurys, who are serving as mentors. The camp ends on July 1.
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Wednesday, June 22nd 2016 at 2:05PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
