SAME San Juan Chapter sponsored Summer STEM Camp.

The San Juan chapter of the American Society of Military Engineers (SAME) subsidized this year the participation of two eleventh-grade students in a STEM camp for the development of students in areas related to engineering. This year was interesting since two female students were sent who represented Puerto Rico excellently in said program. The students were: Adriana Rodríguez Fernández and Yoeida Ramos Robles.

In this article, we share the experiences of these students during said STEM camp.

Yoeida Ramos Robles

During the month of July, in the week from the 6th to the 13th, I was in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I was there with SAME, its acronym stands for Society of American Military Engineers, and its mission is to develop leaders and collaborate between government and industry to create multidisciplinary solutions to solve problems in the security structure. On my trip to the mainland United States of America, I carried out many activities, including the construction of a concrete beam, which was put under pressure on the last day of the camp. The first day we had to build a tower that could support the weight of a stone, the winning tower was the biggest and strongest. Other activities included creating epidemic control areas, escaping from a building with a fire hose, creating an irrigation system, taking supplements across a river, etc. All these activities fostered teamwork and innovation. I loved all these events, but my favorite activity was the “Engineering Reaction Course” which included various events such as building a pulley, observing chemical reactions, and building a tower.This camp impacted my aspirations in many ways. Primarily, thanks to this camp or boarding school, I was able to identify which aspects of STEM I like, such as chemistry and engineering.

Also, I got to learn about the US Air Force and Space Force academy. One of the questions that it helped me clarify is the organization of pandemic events to avoid cross contamination. It also helped me to clarify my aspiration to be a pilot and my aspirations for different aspects of biology (through conversations) and the development of space equipment such as satellites and rockets. In addition, this camp helped me to identify what aspects I would not like to study, such as the construction of irrigation systems.

 Some of the ways this experience connects to my future career is the military aspect. I have always admired the work of the military. My family has been in the military, as we are part of the United States, and it is for this reason that this camp is related to my future. Another side towhich it is related is the opportunity to interact with people from different states of the UnitedStates, my aspiration has always been to reach the whole world with my career and interact with and help people from the places I visit. These paragraphs are hardly superficial words because for me,this camp not only meant something for my future and work, but also my development as an individual and integration and teamwork. Not being able to express in words how much I have grown and learned about myself and my interests in terms of my future career. I feel very grateful and satisfied with this experience that my sponsors gave me.

Adriana Rodríguez Fernández

Unforgettable! That word perfectly describes my experience in the SAME STEM Camp 2023. It was a week that made me see the world differently. This experience taught me not to be afraid of anything, to be open to every opportunity that comes my way. I met people from different parts of the world and their cultures, what they liked and what brought them to the camp. SAME largely contributed to discovering what I want for my future, specifically my career. We did so many activities that I even lost count. The camp was at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois on July 17-22. We competed making boats, we built dog houses, we made three-legged chairs, we made a rocket out of a bottle, and I even dressed as a firefighter. We also went to visit the St. Louis Arch. I mean that SAME opens doors; with them I discovered things about myself that I didn’t know. It was a unique opportunity, and I would love to do it again and as I said at the beginning, it is unforgettable.