Kyla McNair quickly scanned the app on her iPhone, touched the screen and watched her robot car come to life. She then used the app to maneuver the car, built from a kit, around the floor as other campers worked on their robots or raced them in a nearby hallway.
McNair was one of 22 participants in this summer’s B.L.A.C.K. (Building Leaders through Analysis, Conceptualization and Knowledge) engineering camp at the University of Georgia. That camp, and a second, ExCEL (Experience Creativity, Excitement and Learning) for females were designed to introduce potential future engineers to a career field that is underrepresented by African Americans and women.
A junior at Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Florida, McNair plans to pursue an engineering career and used the UGA camp as an opportunity to learn which field of engineering she likes best.
“No matter what [engineering] field you go into, whether it’s electrical or computer science, you’re helping people solve problems,” said McNair, 16.
The camps were part of the Summer Academy at UGA (SAUGA), hosted by the Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel, a UGA Public Service and Outreach unit. Fifty-nine camps were offered through SAUGA this summer, drawing 1,043 participants.
The NCR Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the NCR technology company, based in Atlanta, provided full scholarships for participants at the B.L.A.C.K. and ExCEL camps.
The NCR Foundation values working with partners with a strong brand, and one with goals aligned with NCR, said foundation director Yvonne Whitaker.
“We want to make sure that we’re leveling the playing field and bringing opportunities to students or adults who may not have those,” Whitaker said. “You just never know what the impact is going to be, and that’s why we wanted to bring in opportunity where there’s so much potential.”
Half of the undergraduate students in UGA’s College of Engineering are white males.
Racheida Lewis, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering who led the B.L.A.C.K. camp, said it is important to engage young people from diverse backgrounds early to cultivate their passion for engineering. Minority students often don’t see themselves in scientific and math fields, she said.
“They have the opportunity (at the camp) to explore engineering through their own cultural lens with peers and an instructor that looks like them,” Lewis said.
Naa Besa Annan, a freshman at Chamblee High School in Brookhaven, attended the B.L.A.C.K. camp to broaden her knowledge of engineering. She is interested in combining medicine and engineering, possibly as a prosthetic engineer, and is considering UGA for her undergraduate degree. Annan, 14, appreciated having Lewis as the instructor.
“I don’t really know that many female engineers,” Annan said. “The few that I’ve met don’t look like me, but Dr. Lewis, that was really eye opening to see someone who’s gone this far and is here now teaching.”
Sonia Garcia, the assistant dean for undergraduate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the College of Engineering, spent time interacting with participants at the ExCEL and B.L.A.C.K. camps. The more students engaged with the activities, the more an engineering career began to resonate with them, Garcia said. She plans to follow up with participants and assess their level of interest in both engineering and in UGA.
“This kind of program makes students become aware that science and engineering is something that they can achieve,” Garcia said. “We’re trying to make sure that they understand that they’re able to do this, that they have what it takes to be in engineering and that they can seriously think about engineering as a career and that they can come to our college [to succeed].”
