In order to help meet the nation’s needs in building and managing a better national security infrastructure long into the future, educational growth opportunities and strategic pathways for STEM professionals are needed.
Each year, in support of this need, SAME hosts STEM/Engineering & Construction Camps in partnership with the military services. For more than 20 years, these camps have served an important role in helping inspire thousands of future engineers and STEM professionals. While each camp has a different onsite experience in terms of the activities and programs campers participate in, the camps all allow students to build and hone their skills while working in a collaborative and fun environment.
There are a total of five national camps that will be held in 2023.*
- U.S Air Force Academy Camp, Colorado Springs, CO: June 10-15
- U.S Army Camp, Vicksburg, MS: June 11-17
- U.S Marine Corps Camp, Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, NC: June 17-24
- U.S. Army Camp, Scott AFB, St Clair, IL: July 16-22
- U.S. Navy Camp, Naval Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme, CA: July 16-22
As professionals and current leaders of the A/E/C community, it is vital to want to help reach young students and excite, attract, teach and interest them in the fields of engineering and construction. By being a camp mentor you can help play a role in being that solution! *(NOTE: Camp mentors and other volunteers/staff must be onsite one day prior to the start of the camp.)
Onsite at SAME Camps
During their week at camp, students go through an extensive and beneficial program to prepare them for the potential types of careers they may want to pursue in the years ahead. STEM activities as such as the Pier Repair/Concreate Beam Event is when each squad splits into two teams and designs, constructs, and witnesses a strength test for a 4-ft concrete beam, determining the beam height and width meeting a 24-in² cross sectional area requirement, water to cement ratio, and placement of two pieces of rebar. The goal for this event is overall strength compression. The Bridge Repair/Popsicle Stick Bridge Activity is when each squad splits into two teams to design, construct and test a popsicle stick and glue bridge spanning a 24-in gap, not exceeding 12-in high and with only 200 popsicle sticks. The goal for this event is overall strength to weight ratio of the bridge.
Day-to-day responsibilities of the mentor overall include assistance with the camps needs, STEM activities, and teaching and monitoring hands-on projects.
With more excitement comes more help needed! The SAME Camps Community of Interest needs assistance in making the camps an amazing experience for the students. The contribution of mentors and other volunteers during the week can give students a powerful message that they can accomplish their dreams and do anything that they put their minds to. By helping them start to see their career goals, mentors are setting the standard for the next camps in the years to come. By joining us as a volunteer mentor, you can make an unforgettable impact in the lives of these amazing young people and make memories that will last forever. In fact, many past mentors look back at their experience during camp as truly memorable.
Become a Camp Mentor
As part of the 2023 camp season, SAME is recruiting for the following positions:
- Mentors – 8-20 per camp
- Assistant Mentors/Squad Leaders – 4 to 10 per camp
- Support Loggies – 3 to 10 per camp
- Staff – 3 to 10 per camp
For more information, download the camps mentoring flyer, visit www.same.org/camps/mentors-and-staff or contact Steve Taylor, SAME Camps POC at staylor@same.org. There is an application form that anyone interested must complete. Mentors and other volunteers are selected by the sponsoring Posts. The deadline to apply is May 15, 2023.
Bring a camp mentor is a memorable experience, and can be as beneficial for the mentor as the students being mentored. Said Master Sgt. Amanda Wakefield, USAF, a camp mentor in 2015: “SAME Camp Mentoring is fun. It is rewarding. You will learn something; you will gain something and most important you will make an impact on lives of more than 100 campers in attendance.”
