With the 2023 summer camp season coming to an end the Virtual Ventures team has been reflecting on the past 29 years of STEM outreach! Over the years VV has seen many different youth throughout their journeys in STEM. This season there are several instructors who have come full circle having taken part in VV as a camper and returning as an instructor. Meet some of our amazing instructor team!
Grace
Grace in Animation camp 2017
Grace teaching Codemaker Girls 2023
Grace is one of VV’s university instructors entering her second year of Aerospace Engineering at Carleton! This summer Grace taught Programming camp and all girl’s technology camp, Codemaker Girls! Grace is passionate about encouraging girls to see themselves in the STEM fields. This inspired her to join the VV team as an instructor after being a camper in VV’s animation camp in 2017.
“Seeing women in STEM at Virtual Ventures camp when I was younger and at Carleton was really cool. I want to make sure that girls know they have a place in STEM as well”.
Grace enjoys showing different STEM topics in a fun way and helping kids see what possibilities they have to pursue STEM. In the future Grace would like to work for the Canadian Space Agency and contribute to getting rid of debris in lower Earth orbit.
Connor
Connor at Programming camp 2013
Connor teaching Engineering Sr 2023
Connor is a returning university instructor heading into his final year of Aerospace Engineering at Carleton. He taught Game Design Sr summer 2022 and is teaching Engineering Sr this summer. Connor attended Virtual Ventures as a camper for many years participating in a variety of camps.
“VV was my childhood, I’d be asking my parents to go to VV to reinforce my interest in STEM. I really liked learning about programming at camp which wasn’t a part of the curriculum when I was younger”.
Connor hopes to become a teacher and teach secondary math and science. This goal and his passion for STEM led him to join the VV team as an instructor. “I’ve always really enjoyed teaching. I really looked up to my instructors as a camper, seeing what engineering students could do as a part of their job while in school was awesome and it was really cool seeing students get to teach other people”.
Zane
Zane in Innovators camp 2017
Zane teaching Programming camp 2023
Zane attended VV for a number of years as a camper, participating in Terabytes, Engineering Sr and Innovators camp. As a high-school instructor this summer Zane taught Engineering Sr, Programming and Game Design. When asked why he wanted to return to VV as an instructor Zane shares, “VV inspired me with a love of STEM, I want to contribute to that for another generation of kids”. Zane will be pursuing Economics at Western University this fall.
Mia
Mia in Engineering Sr 2017
Mia teaching Explorers camp 2023
Mia has been a part of Virtual Ventures for many years! She started off with VV in Explorers camp in grade one and has returned every year since. As a camper she participated in general camps, Game Design, Engineering camp and Girls camps. Mia joined the VV team to give back to the Virtual Ventures community, “It means a lot to me because I grew up at camp every single year and have so many good memories”.
Mia is a returning high-school instructor and helped with many camps this summer including Engineering Jr, Nybbles and Explorers.
“I find it really cool because I started out in Explorers and now I am teaching Explorers, its a full circle moment as I am now teaching the same content I learned at Virtual Ventures”.
Mia is interested in pursuing Architecture or Industrial Design at Carleton.
By: Halle Blowes