There is no force equal to a woman determined to rise.
My name is Marina and I am from Kenya. The statement I just said summarized what the 2018 WiSci Girls STEAM Camp means to me. The people, the food, the environment, the classes, and even the hill we climbed twice a day – every day – the many flights of stairs… everything!
When I first arrived at Camp, I was already very enthusiastic to start learning due to the warm welcome by the Namibians and Counselors. They sang and danced for us and made us feel like VIP’s. I was even more excited to see my roommate. She was a smiling, bubbly girl and from then on, I knew that the WiSci Camp experience would be an experience I would treasure forever. My Counselor Hilja was also a part of making this experience worth remembering. She always ensured we had fun, interactive Girl Up sessions like advocacy, self-esteem and ice-breakers.
On the first week, we had Girl Up, Google, NASA and all of these amazing sessions opened our minds and from then we learned a lot. My personal favorites were the Google sessions wherewe coded apps. This experience helped me realize that I would like to venture into computer related courses and let’s not forget all the Google goodies! One of the most exciting parts of camp for me were the Culture Nights where girls showed their local dances, native languages and issues girls face in their countries. On week two, we have Intel come in with a bang… with the cool entrance after the Talent Show, the cool robots and all the gifts! I mean, we made Wall-E work!
I’m so happy to share my experience. We are all powerful, brilliant, and brave. As girls, we need to tap into our potential because we are powerful beyond measure. As girls, we can change the world and that’s what WiSci has proved to us.
From June 17-29, Girl Up, along with other WiSci Girls STEAM Camp founders Intel, Google and the U.S. State Department held the fourth annual Camp in Namibia. Learn more about the WiSci Girls STEAM Camp at www.GirlUp.org/WiSci
(Photo credits to the U.S. Embassy in Namibia)
