A Camp Like None Other

This week, the WRJ Blog is featuring a series of articles on the newest URJ Camp: URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy. In particular, we are focusing on WRJ's involvement in increasing the presence of girls at the camp and, by extension, supporting women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Anyone who has been to a URJ camp on Shabbat knows that it is a very special moment. The youth don their Shabbat whites, gather together for inspiring words by their camp leaders, and are ushered into the dining hall with guitar-playing songleaders leading Kabbalat Shabbat melodies. The highlight of my summer was spending such a Shabbat at URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy, the newest of our 14 URJ summer camps. Sci-Tech is a camp like none other. In addition to the typical activities, song sessions, and Jewish experiences that are enjoyed at all of our camps, this summer program is designed for youth with a particular interest in science and technology. The kids who attend are more likely to watch "The Big Bang Theory" on TV and play Minecraft than play sports. At home, they are more likely to join the math or robotics club than the soccer team or youth group. At this camp, instead of making lanyards or having color wars, they find themselves creating a video game, building a robot, editing a horror film, or blowing things up–and that suits them just fine.

When I asked campers what they liked best about Sci-Tech, I heard comments like:"This is the first place where I’m not the biggest science nerd," and, "for the first time I was not picked last for the team." I repeatedly heard kids say that for the first time, they really felt like they fit in. "They get me here," was a common refrain. Noting that only a small number of girls were registering for the camp, WRJ decided to offer scholarships to girls to encourage them to take advantage of this new camp opportunity. The publicity around the scholarships and the financial aid made a huge difference in reaching out to more girls, though the gender disparity remains considerable. Encouraging girls to consider entering STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields remains a challenge. With a WRJ President who is an engineer and a WRJ Vice President (and the Sci-Tech Academy Chair) who is a biologist, WRJ is poised to help address this challenge. The URJ Academy leaders are already making plans for next summer and looking at ways the camp program can be more appealing to girls. Before departing, I had the chance to meet with a few of ‘our’ WRJ scholarship recipients. Hannah, a 9^th grader, had focused on digital media for the camp session, while Phoebe, an 8^th grader, and Mia, a 7^th grader, had ‘majored’ in robotics. When asked what message they want me to pass along, they said, “Music, science, and Judaism all go together!” And, “Fishcat!” (Don’t ask.…) Despite being a small group within the camp family, or perhaps because of that, the Sci-Tech girls grew very close to one another and knew that they had made lifelong friendships. With arms around each other and tears in their eyes, two of the girls proclaimed that the best part of camp was finding their best friend. But then one of the girls frowned and looked at the other and said, "Uh-uh. We’re not really friends. We’re sisters!”