The CAREERS program is aimed at establishing a network of 2-week, live-in, summer science camps for middle and high school students that are focused on meteorology and climate science. This award is being used to develop a coordinated design strategy that will allow the program to move beyond initial efforts to host coordinated high school weather camps in two locations and implement a more comprehensive program to foster minority involvement in geoscience education and longer-term geoscience career paths. Seven academic institutions geographically distributed along the east coast, Gulf Region, Puerto Rico, and US Southwest are participating in this planning and expansion effort. The overarching theme of the science camps will be to convey to the students that weather and climate concerns permeate all facets of society including public policy, human behavior, energy sectors. All participating students will be exposed to weather, society and careers opportunities. The program has these primary objectives: 1) encourage young scholars, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups (African American, Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islanders) to pursue studies and careers in weather and climate sciences; 2) attract and enlighten motivated middle school students early enough in their education about career opportunities in climate and weather sciences beyond traditional careers; 3) stimulate interest in weather and climate science through immersive and interactive experiences with professionals from various geoscience disciplines and related careers that rely upon geoscience expertise (e.g., forensic meteorology, forest management, transportation services, energy companies, environmental organizations); 4) provide early exposure to the college experience through live-in camps and hands-on laboratories in the University setting; 5) provide professional development training emphasizing effective technical expression (written and oral) and leadership; 6) provide immersive teacher training in atmospheric sciences/meteorology by utilizing middle school and high school teachers as camp mentors at each location; 7) build realistic workplace frameworks into the learning model, including team-building, development of technology skills, enhancing communication abilities (written and verbal), and enhancing personal dynamics by creating an environment that will be as diverse as the future workforce. Planning for this larger initiative is being conducted through face-to-face meetings of project partners held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society, and a 2-day retreat in Washington, DC. When fully implemented, it is anticipated that the weather and climate camps will reach annually over 500 high school and middle students and 40 K-12 teachers.
