“I Want to Be a Geologist”: One Camper’s Joyful Leap into STEM
For Iris, coming to Girls in STEM Camp started as a surprise, and quickly turned into something special.
“My name is Iris,” she said shyly. “I’m going to Clayton Middle School.” She hadn’t planned the experience herself. “My teachers recommended me here,” she explained. “And now I’m here, and I’ve been really excited about it for weeks.” In fact, her parents already knew before she did. “My teacher told them before I knew,” she added with a smile.
From the moment she arrived, Iris knew she belonged. “I love the Camp,” she said. “I love how there are so many activities and so many different things you can do.” But it wasn’t just the activities, it was the people. “We all have our own beds, and we don’t know some people, but we make new friends.” She paused, then added simply, “I love it.”
One thing that makes this camp stand out for her is the environment. “It’s just girls,” she said. “If boys were here, especially with the slime station, chaos would erupt.” She laughed. But there was something deeper there, too: “We can share girl things, and I love it.”
In school, Iris already knows what she likes and what she doesn’t.
“Math,” she said without hesitation when asked about her favorite subject. What draws her to it is its clarity. “If you learn how to do it and you can do it, then you got it.” Unlike other subjects, she explained, math feels steady and predictable. “You can go up as high as you can, as long as you already have the stuff mastered.” Reading, on the other hand, feels more complicated. “You have to get a whole new vocabulary and stuff,” she said.
At Camp, that confidence in learning is starting to shape her future goals.
“I want to be a geologist,” she said proudly. The reason behind it is refreshingly straightforward: “I like digging, and I like rocks a lot. So it is kind of obvious.”
While no one has directly guided her into that path, she’s already thinking realistically about what it could mean. “You might not always be digging,” she said, recalling things she’s been told. “You’re not going to have summer breaks like school.” Even so, her curiosity remains strong.
Here at Camp, that curiosity is just beginning to expand. When asked what she hopes to learn from meeting scientists, she shrugged, smiling. “I honestly don’t know.”
And maybe that’s the best place to start.
Surrounded by new friends, hands-on activities, and endless questions waiting to be explored, Iris is discovering that learning doesn’t have to come with all the answers. Sometimes, it just begins with excitement and a love of rocks.