Data Science Camp Inc.

08/11/2026

💚💚💚 WHAT A WAY TO CELEBRATE 12 YEARS! 💚💚💚

My heart is FULL! ❤️

As I close out the 2026 Data STEAAM Camp, I am filled with gratitude, pride, and excitement for the incredible young people who just completed this six-week journey.

It has been my honor as the Founder & President of Data Science Camp, Inc. to celebrate our 12th year of inspiring the next generation of innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders.

🏛️ UDC - THANK YOU!

To the University of the District of Columbia, thank you for being our home for the past six years. Your partnership, support, and commitment to experiential learning have helped make this program possible. We are grateful to be part of the UDC CAUSES family!

💚 To our amazing facilitators - Sydney Oundo, Shayla Delaney, Skylar Thompson, and Lebron Lewis: THANK YOU! Your dedication, persistence, enthusiasm, patience, and belief in our scholars were evident every single day. You challenged them, encouraged them, celebrated their successes, and helped them discover abilities they didn't know they had.

🎓 AND TO OUR SCHOLARS...

Over six weeks, you learned how to ask better questions, conduct research, collect and validate data, think critically, collaborate, solve problems, and stand confidently in front of an audience to tell your story.

Those lessons don't end when camp ends.

You will carry them with you into college, your careers, and throughout your lives.

🤝 And we absolutely cannot forget our AMAZING partners and guest speakers!

Adobe • Esri • PolicyMap • Giant Foods • PepsiCo • Brown Dog Gadgets • AgCareers.com • FoodCorps • Agritecture • Sunny Wescott • Brittany Williams • Darren Spencer • Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholars • Isabella Getahun • Harkness/Civic Lab

…and so many others who poured their time, knowledge, experience, and love into our young people.

THANK YOU! 🙏🏾

You showed our scholars what happens when education meets opportunity.

And to our young people, I want you to remember something:

✨ Tonight is NOT the end. It is the beginning. ✨

Stay connected to us. Call us when you need advice. Let us know about your successes. Ask us about career opportunities. And when you need that recommendation letter one day - CALL US! 😊

Once you become part of the DSCI and UDC CAUSES family, you are ALWAYS part of the family.

Congratulations, scholars! 🎉🎓

I am so incredibly proud of you. And I am even more excited to see where your journeys take you.

May God continue to bless and guide each of you.

Dream big. Stay curious. Keep learning. Keep STEAAM-ing! 🚀

And as someone who believes the future belongs to those who dare to imagine it...

🖖🏾💫 LIVE LONG AND PROSPER! 💫🖖🏾

08/11/2026

🎓💚 WEEK 6 - WE MADE IT! 💚🎓

It is hard to believe that we have reached the final week of our incredible six-week Data Science STEAAM Camp journey!

This week was all about putting everything our learners have learned into action. The students spent most of the week fine-tuning their presentations and completing construction of their Earthship models. They worked, collaborated, practiced, revised, problem-solved and then did it all again!

We were blessed with two amazing guest speakers this week.

🥤 Jeremy Adamson from PepsiCo shared his personal career journey and gave our students an eye-opening look at the incredible breadth and depth of PepsiCo's food and beverage products. He also helped them understand the many steps, people, careers, and agricultural resources involved in getting those products from their sources to consumers.

🎓 Isabella Castro, an Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholar and rising senior at the University of Florida, shared her college journey and experiences with our learners. Even more exciting? One of our STEAAM scholars will be attending the University of Florida this fall! 💙🧡

These conversations matter. Sometimes seeing someone who is just a few steps ahead of you makes the possibilities feel real.

Over the past six weeks, our learners have explored food security, urban agriculture, water and drought, renewable energy, cybersecurity, sustainability, community resilience, data science, and so much more. They have learned from experts, worked with real data, built things, asked questions, made mistakes, solved problems, and learned to tell the story behind their research.

And now…

🎤 It's CAPSTONE TIME!

The next post will be all about our Student Capstone Showcase and the celebration surrounding this incredible milestone.

To our learners: We are proud of you!

To our facilitators: Thank you for hanging in there and pushing them across the finish line!

To our partners, speakers, mentors, and supporters: Thank you for helping us show our young people what is possible.

STEAAM-ing toward the future! 🚀🌱📊💻

08/03/2026

Week 5 is in the books, and what an amazing week it was! 🎉💙💚
Our Data Science STEAAM Camp learners have officially entered the home stretch as they continue working on their capstone projects. It has been exciting to watch them apply everything they've learned from Adobe, Esri, PolicyMap, FoodCorps, AgCareers.com, and our incredible guest speakers to tackle real-world challenges.

This week was filled with unforgettable experiences:

🤖 Brown Dog Gadgets introduced our students to the Bit Board Rover. While missing parts prevented everyone from completing the activity, the excitement in the room when the rovers lit up and moved was priceless! Sometimes the greatest lessons come from adapting and persevering.

💧 We welcomed back Isabella and the Harkness/Civic Lab team, who shared their REFRAME water research and the exciting work they're doing to protect the Anacostia River. They even invited our learners to participate in future community science projects with DOEE and DC Open Data. Although our schedule wouldn't allow us to join this year, we're cheering them on and wish them continued success!

🎓 College Day continues to be one of our favorite traditions! A heartfelt thank you to Melissa May for bringing together an outstanding group of Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholars and college students who inspired our learners by sharing their educational journeys, challenges, and dreams. Special thanks to Devin Crawford, Carlos Hernandez, and Hailey Dickenson for encouraging our students to believe in themselves and their futures.

🌻 We also had an incredible visit to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's People's Garden, where students learned about soil health, urban gardening, sustainability, and why pollinators are so important to our food system.

None of this would be possible without our amazing facilitators, partners, guest speakers, volunteers, and supporters. Thank you for investing your time, knowledge, and passion in preparing the youth of today for the workforce of tomorrow.

🚀 Now we're STEAAM-ing toward our final week!

You're Invited!

Please join us as we celebrate six weeks of hard work, creativity, teamwork, and innovation at our 2026 Data STEAAM Camp Student Capstone Showcase!

📅 Friday, August 7, 2026
🕕 6:00–8:00 PM
📍 UDC Student Center, Van Ness Campus
4200 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC

🗓️ 6:00 PM – Networking Reception & Student Project Viewing
🎤 7:00 PM – Student Showcase Presentations

Our students will present innovative solutions addressing urban agriculture, food security, water and drought, renewable energy, cybersecurity, environmental sustainability, and community resilience.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, August 4:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=7xESoyEUk0G_FR1hOyVG8urlLSzsKRRAnmuxfUTa07VUMzNZODlDVU9XNE9XM0lOMU84T1BWUVpYNC4u&route=shorturl

Can't join us in person? Register for the Zoom livestream:
https://udc-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/2w_EwzeXQwWWseb2hJJATQ

We can't wait to celebrate our amazing learners with you! ❤️🎓🌱💻

08/01/2026

STEAAM Camp learners at the UDC Rooftop Garden

07/27/2026

Week 3... WOW! What an incredible week at Data Science Camp! 🎉

Our learners continued to grow academically, professionally, and personally through another exciting week of discovery and hands-on learning.

This week they explored the important differences between food safety and food sustainability, learning why both are essential to feeding communities safely while protecting our planet for future generations.

Of course, learning also means taking care of ourselves! The students enjoyed some much-deserved time at the UDC gym, proving that a healthy body supports a healthy mind.

We were fortunate to learn from some amazing professionals:

🌱 Esri once again delivered an outstanding learning experience. Although an Air Quality Alert prevented our visit to the UDC Firebird Research & Development Farm, they quickly adapted by bringing the field activity indoors. Students worked together to find hidden plant images, collect data, and solve challenges using observation, teamwork, and critical thinking.

💼 Kellie Adesina inspired everyone by sharing her journey from an HBCU student to public service and now as Vice President with BGR Group, where she works on national food and agriculture policy. She also helped students recognize the difference between strong and weak presentations, perfect preparation for their upcoming capstones.

📈 Betsy Minnich from PolicyMap showed students how data can reveal the story behind communities and markets, giving them valuable tools to strengthen their research projects.

🔒 Brittany Williams and Darren Spencer kept everyone fully engaged with an exciting cybersecurity presentation and tabletop exercise. We hope the lessons they learned about staying safe online become habits they carry into everyday life.

🥗 Mickaela Carter introduced students to the incredible work of FoodCorps, showing how education, nutrition, and community service can improve lives and build healthier futures.

Week after week, these young leaders continue to impress us with their curiosity, teamwork, creativity, and willingness to tackle real-world challenges.

Week 3 is complete and we can't wait to share what Week 4 has in store! Stay tuned!

07/13/2026

Week Two Complete! 🌱⚡🔬 What an Amazing Week at STEAAM Camp!

Week Two of the Data Science Camp, Inc. Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture/Architecture, and Mathematics (STEAAM) Summer Camp for youth ages 14-18 was filled with discovery, creativity, and hands-on learning!

Our learners continued exploring some of today's most important global challenges as they began narrowing their research topics for their capstone presentations.

This week's highlights included:

🌍 Hunger and Poverty - Students examined the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to food insecurity while discussing how innovation and community partnerships can make a difference.

⚡ Renewable Energy - Learners explored sustainable energy solutions and their role in creating healthier communities and protecting our environment.

🌾 AgCareers.com introduced students to the incredible variety of careers available in agriculture. Through a personalized career survey, each learner discovered opportunities that matched their interests, strengths, and passions. Many were surprised to learn just how diverse and technology-driven today's agricultural workforce has become!

🎨 Adobe's Wendy Dinova-Wimmer inspired everyone with a hands-on introduction to Adobe Express and Firefly AI. Watching our learners create their first presentations using Adobe's creative tools was exciting, and we can't wait to see how they use these skills in their final capstone presentations.

🌿 We wrapped up the week with an incredible visit to the University of the District of Columbia's Van Ness Campus Rooftop Garden, the largest rooftop garden among the nation's urban land-grant universities. Students participated in a scavenger hunt while practicing data collection using the Seek by iNaturalist app, strengthening their observation and scientific inquiry skills.

The learning continued with expert instruction on hydroponics, a visit to the UDC Environmental Quality Testing Laboratory, and an exploration of the Firebird Innovation Lab, where students experienced firsthand how science, technology, and agriculture come together to solve real-world problems.

Every week, our learners continue to grow as researchers, innovators, collaborators, and future leaders.

We can't wait to see what they accomplish in Week Three!

Preparing the youth of today for the workforce of tomorrow.

07/13/2026

Week Two Complete! 🌱⚡🔬 What an Amazing Week at STEAAM Camp!

Week Two of the Data Science Technology, Engineering, Agriculture/Architecture, and Mathematics (STEAAM) Summer Camp for youth ages 14-18 was filled with discovery, creativity, and hands-on learning!

Our learners continued exploring some of today's most important global challenges as they began narrowing their research topics for their capstone presentations.

This week's highlights included:

🌍 Hunger and Poverty - Students examined the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to food insecurity while discussing how innovation and community partnerships can make a difference.

⚡ Renewable Energy - Learners explored sustainable energy solutions and their role in creating healthier communities and protecting our environment.

🌾 AgCareers.com introduced students to the incredible variety of careers available in agriculture. Through a personalized career survey, each learner discovered opportunities that matched their interests, strengths, and passions. Many were surprised to learn just how diverse and technology-driven today's agricultural workforce has become!

🎨 Adobe's Wendy Dinova-Wimmer inspired everyone with a hands-on introduction to Adobe Express and Firefly AI. Watching our learners create their first presentations using Adobe's creative tools was exciting, and we can't wait to see how they use these skills in their final capstone presentations.

🌿 We wrapped up the week with an incredible visit to the University of the District of Columbia's Van Ness Campus Rooftop Garden, the largest rooftop garden among the nation's urban land-grant universities. Students participated in a scavenger hunt while practicing data collection using the Seek by iNaturalist app, strengthening their observation and scientific inquiry skills.

The learning continued with expert instruction on hydroponics, a visit to the UDC Environmental Quality Testing Laboratory, and an exploration of the Firebird Innovation Lab, where students experienced firsthand how science, technology, and agriculture come together to solve real-world problems.

Every week, our learners continue to grow as researchers, innovators, collaborators, and future leaders.

We can't wait to see what they accomplish in Week Three!

Preparing the youth of today for the workforce of tomorrow.

06/16/2026

🎉 Exciting News! The 12th Annual Data Science Camp, Inc. STEAAM Camp is Almost Here! 🎉
Twelve years ago, we started with a simple vision: prepare the youth of today for the workforce of tomorrow.

Today, I am proud to announce the launch of the 2026 Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture/Architecture, and Mathematics (STEAAM) Camp, once again in partnership with the University of the District of Columbia.

What began as an idea inspired by President Obama's Open Government Data initiative has grown into a nationally recognized program that has impacted more than 500 students, with alumni now pursuing careers and advanced degrees in data science, engineering, food science, agriculture, research, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.

This summer, our students will tackle real-world challenges involving:

🌱 Urban Agriculture & Green Architecture
💧 Water and Drought
⚡ Renewable Energy
🍽️ Hunger and Poverty
🌎 Food Security and Sustainability
🤖 Artificial Intelligence & Cybersecurity
📊 Data Science & Analytics

They will learn from industry experts, conduct research, analyze data, visit innovative sites throughout the Washington, D.C. region, and develop solutions to challenges affecting communities around the world.

One of my favorite things about this program is watching students discover talents they never knew they had and career possibilities they never imagined.

To our parents, facilitators, university partners, industry leaders, alumni, and supporters, thank you for helping us reach this milestone.

Year 12 begins June 29th. The future is waiting.

Let's go build it together.

01/23/2026

So honored to judge the 2026 STEM Fair at Oxon Hill High School, MD yesterday and today, my third year, and these students never disappoint!
From 10th grade through seniors, the dedication and creativity on display were incredible. The fact that they had only two weeks to research, analyze data, and build their presentation boards makes it even more impressive 😲.
Huge applause for Ms. Jordana Azore, the ultimate chief cook and bottle washer. She flawlessly managed online and in-person presentations, coordinated logistics, and transformed the auditorium into a STEM showcase. She absolutely deserves a Coordinator of the Year award 🏆.
To these amazing students: stay curious and never stop learning. We’re cheering you on every step of the way! 💫











🔗 https://sites.google.com/pgcps.org/ohhssy26stemfair/home

11/11/2025