Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Three inaugural Queen’s camps aimed at fostering diversity within health sciences and engineering are taking place on campus the first week of August.
Media is invited to attend Health Science’s Outreach and Summer Program, and Connections Engineering Outreach’s Black Youth in STEM program, and the All-Girls Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy (QSEA) on Thursday Aug. 4 at Queen’s University. Grade 9 - 12 students from Kingston are attending the health sciences camp and staying at Queen’s University the week of Aug. 2-5. During the same week, the Connections Engineering Outreach programs will have students from both Kingston and the Greater Toronto Area participating in the Grade 7 – 11 Black Youth in STEM program, and Grade 7 – 8 girls participating in the QSEA program.
The Queen’s Health Sciences Outreach and Summer Program provides mentorship and educational opportunities to local high school students who self-identify as low socio-economic status, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, immigrant, refugee, persons living with disabilities, or first-generation Canadians. This inaugural program offers mentorship and workshops throughout the year and culminates in a week-long immersive summer camp on Queen’s University campus in August.
The 17 mentees, from five high schools in Kingston, will get taste of life as a student in health sciences through workshops, lab visits, and a chance to take part in simulation activities. All mentors are current Queen’s Health Sciences students.
The Black Youth in STEM (BYiS) summer program, part of Connections Engineering Outreach, is also an inaugural initiative, building off the Queen’s Black Youth in STEM virtual club. The first part of the BYiS summer initiative took place in July, in collaboration with the Durham Catholic District School Board and Ontario Tech University to offer a specialized STEM camp for Black youth. Three Queen’s engineering Black graduate students designed and delivered STEM workshops to the middle school and high school students over a four-day period. For part two of the BYiS summer initiative, 50 Black students in Grade 7 – 11 from across the Greater Toronto Area were invited to stay on Queen’s University campus for three days. At Queen’s, they have the opportunity to learn more about engineering disciplines and life as a Queen’s student in immersive and hands-on ways.
Connections Engineering Outreach is also offering a new stream of summer courses for girls ranging from Grade 1 – 8, as part of its Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy. These all-girls courses are in support of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science’s Chair for Women in Engineering strategic objectives, with the STEM content being designed and taught by an all-female staff and creating a positive female space. One of the all-girls QSEA courses is the Taste of Engineering, which is a three-day overnight program on Queen’s University campus for girls in Grade 7 and 8. This program runs from Aug. 3-5, and has 29 participants registered from across Ontario.
Media Opportunity: Black Youth in STEM (Engineering)
When: Thursday, August 4, from 11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
What: Engineering Black Youth in STEM students will be at the Beaty Water Research Centre. Students will be involved in activities where they purify a sample of contaminated water and will be testing different water samples.
Where: Beaty Water Research Centre, Mitchell Hall, room 315
Who: Available to speak to the media are:
- Cressana Williams-Massey, Black Youth in STEM Lead
- Nishana Ramsawak, Black Youth in STEM instructor
- Students
Media Opportunity: EDIIA Summer Program (Health Sciences)
When: Thursday, August 4, from 1 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
What: Health Sciences Outreach and Summer Program students will participate in standard first aid and CPR training.
Where: Carruthers Hall Room 102
Who: Available to speak to the media are:
- Ryan Truong, QHS Outreach & Summer Program Coordinator, Medical Student (Class of 2026)
- Giselle Valarezo, Program Manage, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigeneity, and Accessibility (EDIIA), Queen’s Health Sciences
- Students
Media Opportunity: Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy for Girls (Engineering)
When: Thursday, August 4, from 1:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
What: Queen’s Summer Engineering Academy for Girls: participants will be involved in a geological mining activity. The students will be “mining” colorful chocolate-chip cookies, extracting the chips as the precious metals without breaking the cookie, and weighing the extracted chocolate chips to determine the dollar amount.
Where: Beamish-Munro Hall, room 314
Who:
- Lindsay Jones, Engineering Outreach Coordinator
- Students
Please RSVP to Julie Brown to confirm attendance.
Julie Brown
Manager, Media Relations
Queen’s University
brown.julie@queensu.ca