Fifty high school students will participate in a new summer camp at Lamar University July 7-11 to gain a new appreciation for science,
technology, engineering and math. The gO W.E.S.T. Academy, which stands for gO Women for Engineering, Science and Technology Academy,is for high-performing, under-represented high-school females.

Lamar’s Colleges of education and human development and engineering collaborated in designing the program. Otilia Urbina, executive director of the academy, and Ryan Underdown, associate professor in the College of Engineering, submitted the proposal to the Texas HigherEducation Coordinating Board’s Engineering Recruitment Program.

Lamar’s proposal ranked first by a team of experts from academia, state and industry among those submitted by16 Texas institutions. Lamar’s fall 2007 undergraduate engineering enrollment was 138 females compared to 737 males. Urbina said the proposal was written to address a local, state, and national need.

Lamar’s program received a $20,000 grant to conduct the summer camp. With additional support from ExxonMobil and the Beaumont Independent School District, the gO W.E.S.T. Academy will encourage students to expand their science, technology, engineering and math potential through hands-on, real-world lab activities.