UHV student inspiring next generation during summer camp
Computer science senior Christopher Zuniga is teaching the next generation of coders and engineers through his work as an instructor for the Arduino Camp for Middle Schoolers at the University of Houston-Victoria.
The five-day camp, funded by a grant from Alcoa Foundation, wrapped up its final day on Friday teaching middle school students the fundamentals of coding and building real-life circuit projects.
“It has been really fun to watch the students work with circuits,” said Zuniga, a UHV computer science student and one of the camp’s instructors. “Electricity is really fun to work with, and I hope the students walk away with their newfound knowledge of coding. It’s important that everybody knows a little bit of coding, especially nowadays.”
The camp was geared toward students aged 11 to 15 to introduce them to the basic principles of electronics, coding and engineering, said Mai Abo Shakra, a lecturer in computer science at UHV and the camp’s coordinator. The camp began introducing students to how electric circuits and engineering operate hand in hand, and at the end of the camp gave students the opportunity to program and build their own working robots using the code that the students wrote.
The two-phase camp first introduced students to the basics of electrical engineering, allowing them to understand how robots function, Shakra said. In the second phase, students put their newfound knowledge into practice by constructing and coding their own robots, she said.
“The camp sparks the love of coding in them, among the students some enjoy building the circuits and controlling them but when they got to building the robot, some of them were frustrated so that told me one part loves coding and the other part likes the engineering,” Shakra said. “The camp helps students figure out what they like and don’t like about coding, and this is a critical age where we build their interest.”
Under Zuniga's guidance, along with computer science junior Jessica Christ, the 12 campers learned how to create circuits that can detect distance and trigger lights and sounds, similar to the reversing cameras in cars. Zuniga said he first started to get involved with the camp two years ago after being approached in one of his classes by an instructor to consider assisting with the camp. A year later, Zuniga found himself back at summer camp sharing his love of circuits with the students, he said. Seeing the students make the mental connections and discovering a newfound love for science is why he has stayed on board as an instructor, he said.
"We teach the kids basic circuits – you know, how turning on LEDs works. And we built real life example circuits," said Zuniga. "The coding part is really fun, and so is building stuff and making it work. It's just really cool."
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.