Texas Tech University T-STEM Center
Texas Tech University T-STEM Center
T-STEM Center News Archive 2008 Article

Texas Workforce Commission Funds Summer Engineering Camp

By Robert D. Waller | May 19, 2008

Austin — The Texas Workforce Commission has awarded the Texas Tech University T-STEM Center $123,000 for summer camp opportunities for students ages 14-21 in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

The grant is part of Gov. Rick Perry’s Summer Merit Program, a $1 million effort to fund summer youth camps at 13 universities and community colleges across the state. The funded camps focus on careers in STEM education and support the governor’s initiatives to prepare Texas’ future workforce to compete for the high-skill, high-demand jobs of the future.

“Industries of the future will depend on and demand an educated workforce with a solid foundation in math, science, engineering and technology,” said Gov. Perry. “For Texas to remain truly competitive in a global economy we must begin today preparing for tomorrow.”

The T-STEM Center will use the funding to start a brand-new Engineering Camp for students to be held the last week of July on the Texas Tech University campus. This year’s camp will give students a chance to learn STEM skills and concepts as they design, build and launch their own high-flying rockets.

Funds from the center’s award will also be used to support student scholarships as well as the development of additional STEM education opportunities for the Texas Tech’s Science: It’s A Girl Thing camp coordinated by the Institute for the Development and Enrichment of Advanced Learners (IDEAL).

“The Texas Workforce Commission has given our T-STEM Center an important opportunity to develop much-needed summer programs for students and to sustain proven models already thriving at Texas Tech,” said Dean Fontenot, Ph.D., a senior director of the T-STEM Center. “We look forward to expanding our efforts to ensure that Texas students are college-ready and prepared for careers in tomorrow’s increasingly technology-driven economy.”

In addition to the T-STEM Center’s grant award, Texas Tech University received additional funding to scale up summer programs provided by Upward Bound. Part of the Division of Student Affairs, Upward Bound offers academic enrichment programs for students whose families have limited financial resources and whose parents do not have a bachelor’s degree.