Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC) hosted nearly 100 campers last week at its Summer STEMP Camp. Sponsored by Google, the STEM Camp introduced 5^th-8^th grade campers to the world of engineering and mechatronics through a hands-on building project.

The two-day camp challenged students to build a remote-controlled robot in the classroom, assembling the robot from scratch. The following day, students learned to operate their robot and participated in races around the college campus. Campers from all across NACC’s service area of DeKalb and Jackson counties, plus several students from distant counties were in attendance.

“STEM Camp was awesome! We had almost 100 middle schoolers on campus for 2 days, and we had a blast,” said NACC Dean of Workforce Development Kerry Wright. “The kids completed a project where they assembled and operated a remote-controlled robot. In the process, they learned to use their hands and their minds to work through a sequence of steps that led to completing the task. It was a great event, and we are already thinking about how to make next year’s camp bigger and better.”

The college would like to thank Google for all the assistance they provided to this event. From sponsoring the camp financially to their staff volunteering time at the camp, this event would not have been possible without their support.

“Google is thrilled to back young students and their learning journeys at Northeast Alabama Community College’s STEM camp,” said Thomas Gamble, Data Center Facility Manager at Google. “We know the importance of supporting curious learners and are excited to see where these remarkable campers’ lives take them.”

NACC is extremely thankful for Google’s support of this camp. “We could not have done it without the partnership with Google,” said Melissa Ledbetter, NACC’s Work Experience Coordinator. “Not only did we have financial assistance, but we had volunteers from the college, community and Google sent a crew. Thank you to Dr. Campbell who supports us in our innovative efforts, Google for partnership, the volunteers who tirelessly assisted manage the group, the parents/guardians who entrusted their children with us and lastly, all the children who were so well behaved. Proud to be a mustang and proud of our community.”

Learn about NACC’s many Workforce Development opportunities at nacc.edu/opportunity. For more information about Northeast Alabama Community College, visit nacc.edu or download the OneACCS app in the Apple Store or Google Play Store. Follow NACC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest announcements, current events, and more.