SLU STEM Immersion Camp Highlights Opportunities for Underrepresented Students

ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University’s School of Science and Engineering recently held its inaugural STEM Immersion Experience Camp to provide underrepresented students in STEM an understanding of the many fields and educational opportunities available in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Launch SlideshowSTEM Camp students Isaac Gutierrez, Aadit Mehta, Charles Ma and Sohji Matsuda fly drones through the halls of McDonnell Douglas Hall. Photo by Maggie Rotermund.

The six-day, five-night residential camp was open to students in the St. Louis region and was designed for students seeking to learn more about opportunities in STEM and college readiness.

“I’d give it a 10 out of 10,” said camper Kiran Rudd, 16. “I’d recommend it to my friends.”

The camp was open to rising high school juniors and seniors with a 2.5 GPA or higher. All applicants received a full-tuition scholarship from SLU.

The camp was designed to encourage underrepresented high school students from diverse backgrounds to pursue STEM careers.

“As a first-generation college student, myself, I didn’t know anyone in engineering when I started school,” said Scott Sell, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean of undergraduate education in the School of Science of Engineering. 

Sell said the camp was designed to showcase degrees and pathways to careers. SSE students served as counselors, staying with the campers in the residence hall and providing a young mentor for their week on campus.

“It was important to keep the counselor-to-camper ratio low because we wanted them to have the opportunity to work with students just a few years older than they are pursuing degrees in STEM fields,” Sell said. “We wanted campers to see what they could do in STEM.”

Each day of the camp was built around a topic area – sustainability, health, security and joy of living.

Starting off the week with Sustainability Day, campers received an overall presentation on ‘What is STEM,’ got an intro to civil engineering lecture and participated in activities at SLU’s WATER Institute and Neuroengineering Lab.

Health Day featured a morning with the AIMS Program in the Cadaver Lab, an afternoon with the chemistry department and a resume writing session.

A visit to the Open-source Software Center kicked off Security Day. The campers also participated in an innovation challenge, worked in the CHROME Lab to pick locks and build robotic crabs and learned about geospatial sciences. Academic advisors from the School of Science and Engineering (SSE) also shared their expertise with the campers.

For the Joy of Living Day, campers were exposed to industry partners who regularly work with SSE. The morning featured a field trip to Boeing and lunch with industry professionals from Boeing, IBM and Ameren.

Campers learned how to fly drones with an aviation professor and created their own key chains using the 3D printers in the Center for Additive Manufacturing.  

Paris Hill, 16, said she came to SLU with a passion for web design but appreciated the exposure to careers she hadn’t considered before.

Sell said he hopes to increase the size of the camp next year and will use survey data from this year’s pilot program to improve and expand programming.

About the School of Science and Engineering

Saint Louis University formed the School of Science and Engineering in 2022 to better meet the future needs of its students and faculty. The school brings together select departments from the College of Arts and Sciences — chemistry, computer science, earth and atmospheric sciences, and physics — with the former Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology. To learn more about the School of Science and Engineering, visit slu.edu/science-and-engineering.