CompuGirls Hawaiʻi – Summer Camp June 2023
By Ali Roberts
The CompuGirls Hawaiʻi Camp welcomed 26 new campers and 6 peer mentors to Hawaiʻi Pacific Universityʻs downtown campus at Aloha Tower for our week-long residential camp. Campers came together from Oʻahu, Maui, and the Big Island to learn about cybersecurity, computer science and app coding, astronomy, marine science, and ecology. From our first night, there was an obvious sense of teamwork among this cohort of campers! Upon arrival, we were able to gather and talk story to learn more about each other and the camp staff. Then, groups broke away in the dorms with their mentor teachers to have ice breaker sessions and create posters of their chosen “rules of engagement,” or how they wanted to treat each other and themselves for the duration of the camp. Each group then shared their posters with the larger group and discussed their expectations for the week. These activities set the stage for a week of learning alongside one another in respectful and engaging ways.
CompuGirls Hawaiʻi is funded in part by a grant from The Defense Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Consortium (DSEC), so there is a large cybersecurity component. We were joined by Whitney Aragaki to set the cybersecurity tone for us. She taught us a few different ways that we can be more conscious of our personal security, such as learning how to identify scam emails and phone calls. We carried these lessons through the rest of the week while campers learned about different career pathways they can take in STEM fields.
Toward the end of the week, a few campers expressed a newfound interest in areas of STEM that they didn’t know about before the CompuGirls Hawaiʻi Camp! An important aspect of this learning and exploration was the synthesis of scientific measurement with Hawaiian knowledge and practices provided by Kaleohano Kahahawai (Kumu Kaleo) and her ʻohana. We were also guided by Kumu Kaleo on the significance of the restoration project at the Kalou fishpond in Waialeʻe for maintaining ancient Hawaiian practices and how our contributions to removing invasive species can help toward their goal.
The camp was full of so much learning and fun, ending with a lei ceremony for each group, passing out certificates, and lots of big hugs between campers. We hope to continue growing and improving this camp in the future and look forward to the learners that will come our way!
