Every summer, thousands of kids pack their belongings up in large duffel bags, kiss their moms and dads goodbye and hop on rickety old buses for a week or two of independent freedom.
Summer camps offer everything from horseback riding to more specialized programs such as marching band. Camps are a way for kids to develop themselves away from their day-to-day lives back home.
But for many low-income families, sending a child away to camp isn’t always possible. That’s where SATELLITE comes in to play.
SATELLITE, meaning Science and Technology Enriching Lifelong Leadership in Tomorrow’s Endeavors, is a student-run service organization. It focuses on 10th graders from low-income counties in North Carolina, who may not ordinarily have as many opportunities to develop themselves both academically and mentally. Teens who venture to the SATELLITE camp experience demonstrations, lectures and hands-on lab experiments — all taught by professors and students. The College of Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Textiles and College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences are all represented. But the camp isn’t just about learning, it’s about having fun as well. According to Mark Clapp, a senior in textile engineering and previous director of SATELLITE, there has been a rope course, an egg-drop competition and evening activities that rival the ones held at freshmen orientations. “SATELLITE is a positive influence on the students that attend. It opens doors to college and broadens their perspectives in terms of leadership and academics,” Patrick Ewing, a senior in mathematics education, said. Ewing is a co-director of the program this year, along with Carol Akers, a senior in biomedical engineering. Throughout the year, SATELLITE targets high schools all over the state to spread the word about the program. It receives hundreds of applications each year, but can accept less than half of them. “We usually accept 35 to 40 students,” Clapp said. “We want to push students out of their comfort zones, so we try to only take 1 or 2 students from each county.” The camp is a week-long session, usually happening after exams, on campus. At least $10,000 is needed every year, according to Clapp, to make the camp happen. The money is gained mostly through donations and grants. The camp also requires at least 30 student volunteers, wanting the ratio of campers to counselors to be almost 1-to-1. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the SATELLITE program, which members of the Caldwell Programs started. According to Clapp, the Caldwell members worked with students from UNC-Chapel Hill for the first year. UNC-CH now offers its own similar program, the Renaissance Program, for gifted students. In the future, according to Clapp, SATELLITE leaders want to create an endowment to raise enough money to guarantee the program. “We’re in the talks to try and raise about $200,000 to try and secure the program for the next several years,” Clapp said. “We’re wanting to expand the program, make it last about two weeks or even two separate sections.” There’s no end to the stories the counselors and campers take away from the program. One of Clapp’s favorite tales is about a camper who hardly said a word during the entire week. “I didn’t think she was enjoying the camp at all. But on the last day, she came up to me, crying. ÔThis was one of the best experiences of my life,’ she told me,” Clapp said, continuing on about how those are the moments he will never forget. While Clapp remembers a sentimental story, Ewing has a different memory. “We stayed up all night with the campers on the last night. By about 4 a.m. we had to ban espresso from the drink machine because the kids were acting a little too crazy,” Ewing said.
Giving rural high school students a chance to explore academic paths may be the shove needed to pressure them into attending college once they graduate. For Ewing, Clapp and the rest of the past, present and future SATELLITE counselors, that’s all they ask for.
A chance to make a difference.
