With my girls (I’m in the center) at the camp’s Build Night

 by Carol Koch
Oakland-Piedmont Branch Member

It was thrilling to learn I was going to be a Dorm Mom at the June 2014 Tech Trek Science Camp.  What could be more fun than spending a week hiking, swimming, catching up on my reading, and eating great food on the beautiful Sonoma State University campus?  Little did I know what I was about to get myself into.

It wasn’t the “vacation” I expected, it was SO much more!  It was a week of hanging out with 12-13 year-old adorable, geeky, amazing girls, as they learn through creative classroom formats and fun events how cool science, technology, engineering and math can be.  They had classes in forensic anthropology and bee keeping, took geology walks, stargazed through telescopes, blew up eggs, dissected cow eyes, and even had a couple of field trips to a nearby nature preserve and gardens.

At the cow eye dissection class

It was also a week of being inspired by the remarkable directors who run the camp, the amazing teachers that open up entire new worlds for these insatiable “campers,” and the women working in STEM fields that volunteer for the special events.

It was a week in June that changed lives – even mine!

The girls our branch sponsored at this year’s camp

My group of 10 girls delighted and surprised me every day.  The camp (84 girls) was split up into eight dorm groups. My group named themselves right away: The Purple Potato Genii, or “PPG”, for short.  The PPG bonded over card playing, singing songs, talking TV shows, sports, and sharing their days experiences.  No “mean girls” in this bunch.  They were supportive and kind to each other.

It was the experience of a lifetime and I’m looking forward to next year’s camp!

The entire group at Sonoma State’s June 2014 Tech Trek Camp