JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Northeast Lakeview College and the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio, in cooperation with Navy City Outreach Southwest Region and Navy Recruiting District San Antonio, hosted a SeaPerch Underwater Robotics Challenge Scrimmage at the Eastside Branch Boys & Girls Club July 27.
Twelve teams consisting of 45 middle and high school students from the San Antonio area participated in the scrimmage as part of the annual SeaPerch Regional Challenge Prep Camp.
The camp, in its second year, was made possible through a grant from Texas Workforce Commission in partnership with Alamo Colleges, Northeast Lakeview College, local independent school districts and the Navy’s SeaPerch initiative.
The camp provided 48 hours of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, focused educational experiences that included building a remote-controlled underwater robot, seminars and workshops in effective communication, and teamwork that is necessary to be successful in STEM-related fields.
John Munoz, a computer science teacher with Alamo Heights High School and Summer SeaPerch instructor for Northeast Lakeview College, was excited to be part of this program.
“The Navy does a really great job with providing instructors and the college with everything needed to have a successful competition,” said Munoz, a 2002 graduate of Texas State University. “The summer program gives the kids great opportunities to not only learn about science, technology, engineering, and math, but also gives them a lot of information on what the Navy has to offer.
“The Navy also does a great job of bringing in Sailors who are in those programs to provide one-on-one mentorship and provide information which will prepare them for STEM-related careers,” Munoz said.
Sonia Lopez, director of Development for the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio and Eastside Branch Director Kevin Shandy were also in attendance.
“SeaPerch allows us to introduce our kids to STEM-related topics in a very fun and engaging way,” Lopez said. “This was the first time the Eastside Branch Boys & Girls Club has hosted a SeaPerch event and it has been a phenomenal day for us. We are looking forward to many more partnerships in the future and opportunities to grow our youth.”
Lt. Diana Tran-Yu, Navy City Outreach Southwest Region, has been working with Northeast Lakeview College and other organizations in support of SeaPerch for the past two years.
“We are so fortunate to have established a collaborative partnership with NRD San Antonio, Navy City Outreach Southwest Region, Northeast Lakeview College and the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio,” Tran-Yu said. “The Sailors provided support to the camp by mentoring students and developing their soft skills sets in the interview process, poster displays and engineering notebooks.”
During the camp, recruiters from NRD San Antonio provided classes on nuclear power and information on the Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps Scholarship and Navy Medicine programs.
“This was very interesting for the students; nuclear power is not a subject matter taught in elementary, middle and high schools,” Tran-Yu said. “We look forward to working with students as they prepare for the Regional SeaPerch Competition in the fall.”
SeaPerch is an innovative underwater robotics program that equips teachers and students with the resources they need to build an underwater ROV in an in-school or out-out-school setting.
Students build the ROV from a kit comprised of low-cost, easily accessible parts, following a curriculum that teaches basic engineering and science concepts with a marine engineering theme.
For more information on the SeaPerch Program visit http://www.seaperch.org.