First-year engineering students Sara Mokhtari and Alexander Rostron spent their summer volunteering at the DiscoverE summer camps they attended while growing up.
(Edmonton) It might be just the first week of school for Sara Mokhtari and Alexander Rostron, but they already know campus like the back of their hand. Not only are they familiar with all the shortcuts between engineering buildings, but have senior students among their best friends.
Mokhtari and Rostron, now first-year engineering students, spent their summer volunteering for DiscoverE camps as junior instructors teaching kids the basics of engineering, science and technology, and getting involved with the student community.
"I know exactly where to go, and I got to meet a lot of people who are in engineering. They gave me tips about what to take in school," says Mokhtari.
"I met lots of people in DiscoverE who really know what they're doing," says Rostron.
Both Rostron and Mokhtari attended summer camps as kids. This time around, they came back to teach classes they enjoyed most growing up, learn new skills, and, most importantly, have fun-designing and programing sumo robots, constructing a boat out of popsicle sticks and skewers, or building a tetrahedral prism.
"I had so much fun as a kid so I wanted to come back and continue with that," said Rostron, who attended DiscoverE summer camps from elementary through junior high school. Robotics camp was his favourite, and this year he got to teach it.
The Faculty of Engineering outreach program runs year round, delivering live and virtual school presentations, running after-school camps at various community and cultural centres, and providing weekend programming aimed at girls through the GEM (Girls, Engineering and Mentorship) Club, and the Girls' Coding Club. In 2015, DiscoverE connected with 27,000 kids in Alberta and the NWT.
From July through August, the junior instructors work hand-in-glove with principal instructors teaching and managing groups of up to 25 campers of different ages. A typical day would consist of greeting campers in the morning, guiding them through a set of challenges, observing principal instructors, and helping out with cleanup and planning at the end of the day.
What's more, some of them travel across Alberta to teach in the remote and rural camps. This summer, Mokharti was teaching kids game design and coding in Grande Prairie, in Northwest Alberta.
Some of the valuable skills Mokhtari and Rostron picked up are working in a team, engaging kids with engineering and science, problem solving, and effective communication.
"It was worth the time. I got to hang out with the instructors; we did a lot of stuff outside camps," Mokhtari said of her experience as a junior instructor.
Next year, both junior instructors will apply for principal instructor positions.
"I love kids, teaching, and science," said Mokhtari.