Rising Scholars Academy STEM Camp
Twenty middle school students from South Texas ISD, a magnet school district in the Rio Grande Valley, had the opportunity to experience island life at this year’s Rising Scholars Academy (RSA) STEM Camp. This weeklong camp was hosted by the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC). During their visit, students explored Corpus Christi through daily field trips, got a taste of what college is like by staying on campus, and attended daily STEM activities.
For three days of the camp, TAMU-CC staff took students off campus to explore the bay area. These trips included an outing to the USS Lexington, the Texas State Aquarium, and the Texas A&M AgriLife Center at Corpus Christi.
The trip to the Texas A&M AgriLife Center gave students the unique opportunity to see how TAMU-CC alumni are using their degrees in the real world. Students at the RSA STEM Camp learned from Jose Landivar Scott ’23, a TAMU-CC master’s graduate, and his team about the ways modern agriculture uses technology — including robots, drones, and Artificial Intelligence — to improve agricultural techniques.
After mornings filled with adventure around Corpus Christi, students attended STEM sessions led by Dr. Mamta Yadav, Associate Professional Professor of Computer Science. These sessions focused on programming robots, called mBots, to sense their surroundings and navigate through a maze. Each day, students learned new coding skills that helped their mBots avoid obstacles, play music, put on light displays, and more.
The camp concluded with an exciting mBot competition, where students tested their coding skills by racing their bots through a maze. Students cheered one another on and celebrated each time an mBot crossed the finish line. Prizes were awarded to the top three teams, recognizing their creativity, teamwork, and technical skills.
The RSA STEM Camp provided students with unforgettable experiences that sparked curiosity, strengthened problem-solving skills, and introduced them to the exciting possibilities of a future in STEM at TAMU-CC.