MTSU Science College’s Camp Steers High Schoolers Toward Careers

Amanda Albakry enjoys science-related things “so you can learn how to help people,” and she plans to become a pediatrician.

As fellow teenager Shyann Lyons gets older, she intends to pursue biology and “wants to inspire people” through poetry and other ways.

They were two of nearly 75 high school students attending this summer’s MTSU College of Basic and Applied Sciences STEM Camp, held recently in the Science Building and numerous other facilities at Middle Tennessee State University.

The CBAS science, technology, engineering and math camp occurred June 19-23 and included field trips to the Stones River and MTSU Farm. Students from Nashville, Antioch and McMinnville, Tennessee, and locally from Rutherford County, were part of the second group as the camp continues to expand.

MTSU faculty, staff and student volunteers made the teenagers feel like they were in college — requiring note-taking, goggles and final-day presentations — and consider attending after high school graduation.

Albakry, 15, of Murfreesboro, a rising sophomore at Oakland High School, learned how to shock fish for research purposes at the Thompson Lane Trailhead on Day 1 of the camp.

“I was able to shock and study the fish,” said Albakry, whose 11-person group was led by biology assistant professor Jessica Arbour and others. “We brought fish out of the water and put them in tanks to study and then release back into the water.” Her group studied chemistry on Tuesday and physics on Wednesday.

Lyons, 14, of Christiana, Tennessee, a homeschooled student who “studies at my own pace through the Acellus Academy, called the camp “amazing.”

“I love the activities,” she said. “They (faculty and MTSU students) get you to think. Each activity teaches you a lesson. Everyone should at least try the camp.”

Lyons’ group also learned about quantum and MTSU’s Quantum Science Initiative, math and chemistry and visited the MTSU Farm in Lascassas, Tennessee, and Flight Operations Center at Murfreesboro Airport.

CBAS Dean Greg Van Patten said they “are hoping they get a chance to see that science isn’t just something you learn in a classroom. It’s about discovery, it’s about hands-on activities, and that’s what we offer in college at MTSU, in our classes, in our labs and in our research experiences. We’re hoping the campers get a feel for that.”

The range of activities also includes engineering, STEM education, Concrete and Construction Management and agriculture.

To learn more about the STEM camp or to consider attending in 2024, call 615-898-2613 or email [email protected].