"Just wanted to send a note of thanks for the fabulous camp. Magen had a wonderful time and is keeping in touch with several girls she met while at camp. I've recommended the camp to several people."
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Math and Science Camp for Girls
Summer Days Awards and Recognition
Contact for More Information
Tracy Davenport
Executive Director
410-556-6061
2008 Washington College President's Medal
Comments from Washington College President Baird Tipson
As founding director of Summer Days Math and Science Camp for Girls, Tracy Davenport has inspired youngsters to pursue careers in male-dominated arenas and has championed minority achievement for young girls in Kent County for the past decade. Not only does she encourage girls to aspire to academic excellence, she also helps them develop self-confidence and the skills to maintain positive, supportive relationships among their peers. By bringing them to a college environment and by introducing them to working scientists, Tracy opens their eyes to their own potential.
Trained as an engineer, Tracy set out fourteen years ago to create a rich, diverse program for middle school girls with a special outreach to girls in Kent County who attend the camp on scholarship. Her camp at Washington College has garnered national attention from the The Association of Women in Science Magazine and National Public Radio. In 2002, the camp was recognized with the Maryland Excellence in Minority Achievement Award.
Washington College applauds Tracy Davenport and the Summer Days Math and Science Camp for Girls for this worthy endeavour that encourages young, minority women to pursue careers in math and science-related fields.
Excellence in Minority Achievement Award
TV Channel 13's Kai Jackson congratulates Tracy Davenport on the Excellence in Minority Achievement Award.
Nancy Grasmick, state superintendent, presented an Excellence in Minority Achievement Award to Tracy Davenport, executive director of the Summer Days Math and Science Camp for Girls at a Gala Banquet. The Maryland State Department of Education gives the award to individuals or groups who make a significant contribution to the academic and/or social support of a diverse group, the promotion of positive intergroup relations, the performance of service to increase academic success among minority students, or the enhancement of curriculum, instruction, staff development or resources to heighten achievement among diverse groups.
Tracy Davenport, executive director, accepted the award for Summer Days Math and Science Camp for Girls. Mrs. Davenport, who founded and directs the camp, wanted to increase the diversity of the program and so the camp, which is open to girls across the country and includes a waiting list that has reached 350, reserves eight slots for minority girls from the Eastern Shore. The girls attend the camp on scholarship.
"I was honored to receive the award," said Ms. Davenport. "At first I was surprised that MSDE would recognize the modest efforts of Summer Days Math and Science Camp for Girls. But as I looked around the room at all the people that were being recognized, I realized what amazing things could be accomplished when a number of people are working toward a common goal."
Summer Days is a one-week residential camp designed to teach leadership skills to young women ages 10 to 14 and expose them to career possibilities in math and science related fields. According to Davenport, research shows that many teenage girls do not connect school coursework and career aspirations. For example, a girl will tell you she does not want a career in math or science. When asked what she does want to do, she will answer, "I want to be a veterinarian." Students who don't put an emphasis on math and science in middle school and high school do not have the skills to succeed in these fields in college. The goal of the camp is to keep girls focused on math and science careers, so they will keep their skills up and have more choices in college majors and careers. By fulfilling its mission the camp provides both community and academic support of diverse student groups.
From The Association for Women in Science Magazine, Summer 2004
Not Your Ordinary Summer Camp:
Summer Days Math and Science Camp for Girls
By Erinn C. Howard
Focusing on grades five through ten, Summer Days Math and Science Camp is an overnight camp. Established in 1994 and featured on National Public Radio, Summer Days has been growing in demand over the years enough to expand to two locations. While the programs are essentially the same, campers can choose between attending Echo Hill Outdoor School located on the Chesapeake Bay or Washington College located in Chestertown, Maryland; at either location, the cost is $450 for each week-long session. In order not to be cost prohibitive, Summer Days offers full scholarships that about half the campers receive every year.
Summer Days was originally established by Founding Director Tracy Davenport in response to the lack of female role models in engineering when she was making the decision to become an engineer. Knowing this was an area in which she could make a difference, Davenport created Summer Days. From year to ear, the camp focus can vacillate—"Some years we really focus on career availabilities and salaries, other years [we focus on] leadership, and lately the focus has shifted to appropriate risk taking," comments Davenport.
Whether on the 385 acre working farm on the rural Chesapeake Bay or on a regular college campus in Chestertown, the campers experience a rich assortment of scientific activities.
Because of close proximity to the Chesapeake Bay, the young women spend half a day aboard a Chesapeake workboat where they learn hands-on about bay ecology. Campers study organisms ranging from fish to plankton pulled up from the bay in a net. More than bay ecology, Summer Days has a wide variety of other foci this year including archeology, pyrotechnics, chemistry, engineering, and mental health. On top of the variety of activities the girls participate in, Summer Days staff recognizes that the media perception of women in science is an important discussion topic for any aspiring scientist. Messages from the media concerning women in science are considered, focusing on how we, as women, define our worth. The campers learn about women leaders in math and science, as well as the importance of not apologizing for being smart.
Going beyond its scientific focus, Summer Days also has an Echo Hill Adventure Course in which girls are challenged both mentally and physically by tasks that demand not only cooperation and communication, but also imagination—all skills that will prove invaluable in a science career. Visit www.mathandsciencecamp.com.