Latest News, WVPA Sharing

In West Virginia, science campers find place they belong

By ERIN BECK

National Youth Science Camp

Ernesto de la Rosa Garibay, a 2018 delegate to the National Youth Science Camp, confers with Dr. Pam Twigg, the instructor of a directed study on molecular structure.
(National Youth Science Camp photo)

BARTOW, W.Va. — One sunny afternoon at the end of camp, Ernesto De La Rosa Garibay, of Mexico City, sat cross-legged on a bench under maple and spruce trees and tried to remember the name of a song.

He sat surrounded by rustic cabins and the Appalachian Mountains. Flags from other delegates’ states and countries hung nearby on the green, where young women in dresses and young men in suits were taking group photos.

Since 1963, the National Youth Science Foundation has selected more than 5,500 young people like Garibay – promising youth who demonstrate aptitude and excitement for futures in science, technology, engineering, and math – to come to Pocahontas County each summer for three and a half weeks of advanced science education and outdoor adventure before heading off to college. This summer, Garibay joined more than 100 other delegates at the National Youth Science Camp of 2018.

“Country Roads?”

“Yes!” He beamed.

A farewell banquet was held that night.

Garibay was reminded of the lyrics to a song delegates had stumbled through together around a campfire, about three weeks earlier:

“Country roads

take me home

To the place

I belong”

“I’ve learned that life is not a straight pathway,” he said. “While you are doing the things that you love, you’re doing it right.”

Francesca Garafulic Justiniano, a delegate from Bolivia, wandered over and sat down to join the conversation.

“They have more meaning now,” she added. “They’re not just lyrics in a song.”

“I will remember that I found people who are as passionate as I am about science topics,” Garibay said. “That reminds me that I am not alone.”

“Now I feel like West Virginia is my home.”

Around this time last month, more than 100 young people from across North America flew into Charleston, piled onto buses and headed to the Monongahela National Forest.

The National Youth Science Foundation selected more than 100 accomplished delegates from throughout the country and world to participate in this year’s National Youth Science Camp.
(National Youth Science Camp photo)

Staff members passed out anti-nausea medication. Bus drivers dodged potholes and maneuvered hairpin turns while the young people watched hills turn into mountains and worried about whether they’d fit in.

As their cell phones lost service entering the National Radio Quiet Zone, signs along the winding roads welcomed them to National Youth Science Camp..

For the next three and a half weeks, as is tradition, “The Rhododendron Song” played at 7 a.m. Delegates ate a family-style breakfast in the dining hall at 8:30 a.m, where staff members, many former delegates, had posted posters of the elements of the periodic table on the walls. They passed their serving dishes to the left.

Lectures and hands-on directed studies followed. In one directed study, a retired chief technologist from Hewlett-Packard, Dr. David Hackleman, used a whiteboard and a microwave on the porch of a WV Division of Natural Resources office to show delegates how to extract essential oils from plant materials. In another, delegates dissected a pig’s heart.

They attended cabin meetings at 10:30 p.m. In one of the earlier meetings, young women with five and ten-year plans grinned ear-to-ear as their bunkmates introduced them by talking about their loved ones, their passions and their quirks.

Also as is tradition, they found surprises in between and along the way.

One day, delegates know only to dress for cold and mud. After they pulled on long pants and hiking boots, staff members pointed out puddles, uneven ground and a low ceiling as they followed a pitch-black tunnel into a cave.

At the end, the tunnel opened into an auditorium for singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey, with tarps for seating and rocks for a stage.

Each delegate also went on three overnight backpacking trips. Some mountain-biked for 25 miles or kayaked the New River. Some hiked and rock climbed. Some jumped in frigid water and swam behind waterfalls.

NYSCamp delegates consult their map during a backpacking trip earlier this summer.
(National Youth Science Camp photo)

They often didn’t receive their first choice. Delegates who wanted shorter distances ended up with longer hikes. And during one overnighter, a heavy downpour threw some groups off course.

Staff members, many college students who were once delegates, also led seminars on their interests and fields of study.

One afternoon, two staff members led a session on mental health. Seated around a picnic table under a circus tent and next to a creek, delegates talked about stress and self-judgement. Another day, on the front porch of the dining hall,, staff led a seminar on the opioid crisis in America.

Toward the end of camp, delegates conducted their own presentations, as well. One delegate stood on a bench on the dining hall front porch and recited slam poetry about her interracial relationship.

On the Fourth of July, some delegates spoke about being immigrants or first-generation college students.

At the end of camp, delegates shared some of the lessons they planned to take home with them:

“Camp has taught me not to sweat the small stuff,” said Martin Trouilloud, of New Jersey. “”When you’re stranded on a mountain during a thunderstorm, you stop caring about things like a failed test or social media.”

Addison Green of Mississippi, said he learned: “I don’t have to have my entire future planned out for me right now. So many speakers I’ve heard have told us that on their journey, they did things they never thought they would. My future is open, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Marissa McDonald, of Georgia: “In each challenge, I learned how to trust others around me and my own body more. I had to encourage myself to push myself and finish. I think I will most remember the thrill of trying something new and reaching an amazing view with amazing people.”

“Sometimes physical challenges look more daunting than they are,” said Erica Wu, of New Jersey. “Also, I learned to build a fire.”

“Instead of passing the time on my phone, I spent it with the people around me,” said Jamie Higgins, a delegate from Beckley, West Virginia. “I’ve learned this is a far more fulfilling way to do things.”

Zoe Zimmerman, of Tennessee, said, “I tried rock climbing, and I was super afraid of falling. I did fall, and once I did, I realized it was nothing. There are ropes, people, and harnesses supporting you at every point. I think that applies to a lot of things outside climbing as well.”

“I’m more open now to getting my feet wet,” she added. “Literally. There are a lot of streams here, and West Virginia weather is unpredictable.”

“My dry bags weren’t dry,” said David Serate, of Nevada.” Trust nothing.”

Delegates to National Youth Science Camp kayaked the New River, among other outdoor adventure activities.
(National Youth Science Camp)

“At camp, I started off having really bad imposter syndrome,” said Iesha-LaShay Phillips, of Oklahoma. “I realized that I was selected to attend the camp because they saw something in me. Everyone felt like they weren’t smart enough.”

“You have to permit yourself to meet new things and handle the distance,” said Bruna Souza, of Brazil. “That can be difficult, but it is the only way to meet the world.”

Last weekend, more than 100 National Youth Science Camp delegates from around the world piled on buses to Charleston. Some took anti-nausea medication.

They watched mountains turn into hills, returned to their five and ten-year plans, and headed to their homes.

For about three and a half weeks, they made one here.

This is the second of two stories from Camp Pocahontas written by Erin Beck, public information coordinator for this year’s National Youth Science Camp.

Click here for the first story. Click here for more information about National Youth Science Camp.

Contact:

Andrew N. Blackwood, Ed.D.

Executive Director and CEO

[email protected]

+1 (304) 205-9724 extension 91 Office & Mobile

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

And get our latest content in your inbox

Invalid email address