July 27

I had the incredible honor of spending a week at UC Santa Cruz, teaching engineering to 8th-grade girls from the area during an inspiring week of STEAM learning, creating, and sharing. Campers experienced college life with all its challenges and joys—6:00 am showers, racing to the dining hall for meals, and pushing through the fatigue for that last workshop, only to leave with countless new ideas. They encouraged each other and took pride in all they had accomplished. And that was just the first day! The week culminated in an exciting engineering build night. For six wonderful days, the campers set aside their phones to immerse themselves in core classes, workshops, and collaborative activities. We traded likes and comments for laughter and hugs, and in the end, tears of joy.