Climbing Higher: Averie’s Girls in STEM Camp Adventure from Alpine Tower to Big Dreams
Averie stepped up with quiet confidence when asked to introduce herself. “Okay, my name is Averie. It's spelled A-V-E-R-I-E,” she said, smiling as if she already belonged here. STEM camp wasn’t exactly a long-planned decision; it was more like something that found its way back to her. “A couple of years ago, I heard about it at school. I forgot about it for a little while; then I remembered because I didn't want to get stuck at home,” she explained. But what started as a way to avoid boredom quickly became something more meaningful. “I wanted to go, and I made some new friends.”
From the start, Averie knew exactly what she loved. “I really like climbing and making stuff and making new friends,” she said. Then, with a grin that made it clear she was still a kid at heart, she added, “Mostly the food, though.”
Her love for STEM wasn’t something she had to force. “My favorite subject is math,” she said confidently. And science? That came with hands-on fun. “I love science projects like making slime and stuff.” For Averie, STEM wasn’t just about learning; it was about doing.
That same enthusiasm showed up when she described her biggest adventure at camp so far. “We climbed Alpine Tower, which is the tallest structure in Portola, California,” she said, her hands mimicking the reach of the climb. “I climbed all the way to the top and touched it kind of like this.” It wasn’t just an activity; it felt like a moment of pride. “I love Alpine Tower. It's my favorite.”
Climbing, turns out, has always been part of who Averie is. “A fun fact is I could climb before I could walk,” she said, laughing. It made perfect sense why she felt so at home scaling the tower.
Outside of camp, Averie’s connection to nature runs deep. “Usually every year, like June 28th for my mom's birthday, we usually go camping, and I really enjoy it,” she shared. Whether it’s climbing, camping, or exploring, the outdoors feels like a natural extension of her curiosity.
Even in her first days at camp, she was already picking up new skills. “I've learned about the rules here. I've learned how to put on the helmets and the harnesses for Alpine Tower correctly,” she said. And of course, there were the small, meaningful moments too: “I also took a picture with my friend.”
When asked why science and math matter, Averie answered with a kind of practical wisdom beyond her years. “If you want to be an accountant or really anything you need to know about numbers,” she said, thinking of her cousin who works with numbers every day. And science? That opens even more doors. “If you want to be a firefighter or if you want to be an Instructor like the people at Sierra Nevada Journeys, you need to learn a lot about science.”
For Averie, the future already has a shape. “I want to be a veterinarian because I love animals and I love nature,” she said. She understands both sides of that dream — the hard parts and the rewarding ones. “The non-fun part about it is when you see the animals die,” she admitted honestly, before brightening again. “But the fun part is you get to go out and see animals and like diagnose them with stuff.”
Right now, though, she’s simply on the edge of something new. “I'm going into sixth grade. I just got out of fifth grade,” she said. It’s a moment in between; the big step from elementary school to middle school, where curiosity and possibilities of the future intersect.
But standing at the top of the Alpine Tower, reaching just a little higher, it’s easy to see that Averie isn’t afraid of what’s ahead. After all, this is someone who says, without hesitation, “I could climb before I could walk.”
And now, she’s climbing even higher.