Summer Learning

Verizon STEM Achievers Camps at 44 Partner Colleges Free for Title I Middle Schoolers

• By Kristal Kuykendall
• 07/12/22

Verizon Innovative Learning has expanded its free project-based summer program, a series of three-week, on-site camps called STEM Achievers, to include middle-school students in more under-resourced communities, a Verizon spokesperson said.

This summer, the STEM Achievers camps will teach middle-schoolers problem-solving skills and STEM skills, expose them to STEM career options through mentorships, and allow the students to experiment with artificial intelligence, building electrical circuits, and unleashing their entrepreneurial passion through 3D printing and rapid prototyping.

Middle-school students who attend Verizon Innovative Learning schools or other nearby Title I schools are invited to attend a STEM Achievers program near their home; the full list of Verizon Innovative Learning Schools can be found at Verizon’s Digital Promise website.

There is no deadline to apply to attend the intensive three-week STEM Achievers camp, which takes place throughout the summer on the campuses of 44 HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, and community colleges in areas where Verizon Innovative Learning schools are located, Verizon told THE Journal.

The camps are offered in partnership with the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, Verizon said.

STEM Achievers’ interactive curriculum, developed by Verizon and Arizona State University’s Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute, offers the following four educational tracks, the company said:

• Immersive Media: promotes digital storytelling using AR & VR – tracks include allowing students to virtually explore the Lost City of Atlantis or take a mission to Mars
• Smart Solutions: teaches students about electricity, circuits, and programming
• Digital Product Innovations: includes units on 3D printing, graphic design, and rapid prototyping
• Artificial Intelligence: empowers students to research and create their own real-life machine learning and robotics projects

Educators and parents can learn more or register a student to attend at the STEM Achievers website.