Governor's School at Innovation Park

George Mason’s summer camps introduce K-12 students to STEM fields and life on a college campus

Shayla Brown — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 19:49:58 +0000

George Mason’s summer camps introduce K-12 students to STEM fields and life on a college campus  Shayla Brown Mon, 08/04/2025 - 15:49

��’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) summer camps, programs, and workshops are dedicated to inspiring the next generation of scientists and researchers with STEM-focused curriculum and hands-on learning experiences. 

 The camps, offered to K-12 students, are run by George Mason faculty, staff, and students from the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) and the College of Science (COS).  

In addition to hands-on experience and mentorship, attendees experience life on a college campus, preparing them to enter the higher education environment. 

 Aspiring Scientists 

The College of Science’s Aspiring Scientist Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) is one of the longest running summer STEM programs at George Mason. Nearly 400 students are participating in ASSIP this year both in person and remotely.

“ASSIP is an amazing eight-week program designed to give students more experience in the advanced labs. It runs every summer with different mentors from all over George Mason,” said Isela Gallagher, PhD Biosciences ’19, senior research scientist, Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM) affiliate.  

Isela Gallagher (right) working with ASSIP students. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding.

Gallagher is an ASSIP faculty mentor working with local high school students Alex Simmonds and Yelyzaveta "Liza" Kalchenko.  

The rising seniors attended the Governor’s School at Innovation Park, which allows high school juniors and seniors to spend part of each school day experiencing life as George Mason students, where they heard about this opportunity to work alongside faculty mentors on a research topic of their choosing. 

“We're learning different lab techniques and working with laser capture microdissection, or LCM, and reverse phase protein arrays, or RPBA. We're doing this work to isolate cancer cells from breast tissue samples to better research them,” explained Simmonds, who attends Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, Virginia. 

Simmonds and Kalchenko are working out of the Advanced Biomedical Research Building at the Science and Technology �� (SciTech ��). The students will share their findings at the end of summer presentation for the program on August 7.  

FOCUS  

The FOCUS camp is a five-day residential camp geared toward helping middle and high school students better understand career options. It also utilizes alumni and community partners. 

FOCUS was started in 2014 with four cofounders, including mathematics professor Padmanabhan Seshaiyer, forensic science professor Kelly Knight, former biology professor Claudette Davis, and George Mason alumna Danielle Craddock, MA Integrative Studies ’11, founder of Girls Inspired and Ready to Lead Inc.  

This summer, FOCUS took place from July 14-18 with Craddock serving as the FOCUS program manager, while Knight serves as director of the program.  

FOCUS provides positive role models and experiences with STEM that will increase students’ confidence level in their knowledge, skills, and competencies in the respective fields. 

Each weekday of the camp focused on a different letter of STEM: Monday is science, Tuesday is tech, Wednesday is engineering, and Thursday is math, and on Friday, STEM professionals speak to the students through an interactive panel as well as do a poster presentation. 

ASSIP students working in the lab. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding.

“The students do all types of workshops from coding robotic arms to crime scene investigation, to building rollercoasters,” Knight said. “They also engage in team sessions where we focus on team and community building as well as reviewing content covered that day or content to be covered the next day.”  

“The high school students have an additional workshop before that focuses on college prep, confidence building, or specialized skills such as entrepreneurship,” she added. 

The camp builds students’ relationships with George Mason by prioritizing returning students in the registration process and as a result, the high school program is almost always sold out by alumni of the program within minutes, explained Kelly. The middle school program also has a significant number of alumni and also sells out within minutes.  

In addition to staying in the residence halls to get taste of campus life, camp participants learn more about the college experience from George Mason Admissions representatives and tour the campus. 

“This year we are also doing a workshop on college scholarships and introducing students to skills they will need to be successful in higher education,” said Knight. 

Space Exploration 

Camps such as the NASA-funded program Mason Space Exploration Center (MSEC) are spread across George Mason campuses and provide students with access to some of the university’s most notable facilities such as the Observatory. During its three years, the camp has expanded its offerings to meet demand.  

MSEC students. Photo provided.

“MSEC started as a summer camp but has now also expanded into many different outreach activities and family events, such as Space Day, that cater to fourth through ninth grade students,” said Rob Parks, COS assistant director of MSEC. 

 “We're hoping to be able to stay involved with these families as these kids age, so that hopefully we can encourage them to consider George Mason [when thinking about colleges],” said Parks. 

Rising high school seniors Gwen Chaves and Gabby Whitefield and Rob Parks are Observatory tour guides. Chavs led the advanced camp on the Science and Technology ��. Whitefield was the lead flight director, facilitating daily Astronomy and STEM-related lectures, activities, crafts, and demonstrations. 

“A lot of the kids in the advanced camp are asking me about my experience in George Mason STEM and what it's like to live on campus,” said Chaves. “They’re really curious about what kind of labs and facilities we have, which are cool questions to be able to answer. It’s exciting to teach them about what George Mason has to offer them later on in their academic careers.” 

Engineering Is a Growing Field

Camps on engineering and related topics are always popular at George Mason, and there are a variety of programs on all three of the university’s Northern Virginia campuses for students looking to be inspired. 

The CEC Office of Outreach, Student Success, and Engagement (OSSE) offers outreach activities that encourage creativity and nurture a passion for STEM from an early age. Outreach activities include the Fall STEAM Fest, the Spring into STEM Event, the STEM Summer Showcase, and the Engineering 4 Us All Program. 

George Mason’s Exploring Renewable Energy Engineering Summer Camp, held at Mason Square is sponsored by Amazon Web Services. This camp, led by CEC professor Liling Huang, offered high school students a range of interactive science and engineering activities, including building a model town powered entirely by clean renewable energy.  

Huang’s E2 Center for Energy Exploration will host an upcoming summer camp for high school students as well. 

MSEC students. Photo provided.

BioE-Buzz 

Carolyn Wilson, internship coordinator for the Bioengineering Department, worked with the department’s external advisory board, called the Alliance, to increase the pipeline of students coming into the department.  

Through this initiative, Wilson created BioE-Buzz, a CEC summer camp for rising high school juniors and seniors.  

“We have a number of campers who are interested in majoring in bioengineering based on what they learned and were exposed to during the camp, so that really encouraged us to expand our sessions this year from one to two weeks. We’ve also doubled the number of campers from our first year,” said Wilson. 

The camp takes place on the Fairfax and SciTech campuses. The camp’s counselors, coordinators, and volunteers are George Mason students. 

“This is our second year of BioE-Buzz, and we have the campus structured so that students spend their time getting to know what Mason has to offer. They have access to our Nanofabrication and EDGE facilities as well as the MIX,” said BioE Buzz camp director Khadija Zaidi-Rashid, PhD Bioengineering ’23. 

Students will give presentations on what they learned and experienced at George Mason’s summer camps with a STEM End of Summer Showcase in August. 

Topics

Summer Camps

ASSIP

College of Engineering and Computing

College of Science

Bioengineering

Governor's School at Innovation Park

�� News

Governor’s School at Innovation Park offers high school students a pathway to college at George Mason’s Science and Technology ��

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 21 May 2025 17:56:21 +0000

Governor’s School at Innovation Park offers high school students a pathway to college at George Mason’s Science and Technology �� Lauren Reuscher Wed, 05/21/2025 - 13:56

The Governor’s School at Innovation Park, located at ��’s Science and Technology ��, holds a special distinction: It’s Virginia’s only academic-year Governor’s School located on a four-year college campus.

That means that high school juniors and seniors spend part of each school day experiencing life as �� students.

Governor's School at Innovation Park students gather in Verizon Auditorium at Colgan Hall on the Science and Technology ��. Photo provided

The Governor’s School at Innovation Park celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. Located in Manassas, it is one of 19 academic-year Governor’s Schools in the commonwealth. Students earn college credit for their coursework through dual enrollment at their high school and George Mason.

"The Governor's School at Innovation Park provides a vital opportunity for local high school students to experience the rigors of college education,” said Janette Muir, vice provost for academic affairs at George Mason. “The program exemplifies George Mason’s role as an anchor for access to higher education in Northern Virginia.”

Qualified students at partner high schools are offered guaranteed admission to George Mason after completing the program.

The Governor’s School at Innovation Park serves 166 students from 15 high schools across three school divisions. The program’s faculty are Prince William County Schools employees and are also George Mason affiliate faculty. Several also work as adjunct faculty at George Mason.

The program was founded in 2010 through the collaborative efforts of George Mason, Prince William County Public Schools, Manassas City Public Schools, and Manassas Park City Schools. The STEM-focused curriculum includes real-world research and mentorship opportunities in business, industry, government, and university settings.

“Our location at George Mason’s SciTech �� has had an incalculable impact on all three school divisions, as well as the campus,” said Jason Calhoun, director of the school. “Our students’ access to world-class laboratory facilities has allowed them to conduct research and excel in national and international research and STEM competitions.”

Students are selected for the program through a committee review process in their school division. Applicants are evaluated based on a holistic review of their academic performance in high school and must have demonstrated excellence in advanced STEM courses.

“There is no better opportunity to prepare our advanced STEM students for the rigors of advanced course work and research, while still having access to the opportunities and socialization that high school allows,” said Calhoun.

Governor's School students at their annual research symposium. Photo provided

Calhoun noted that the program helps students hone laboratory and research skills, time management, and organizational skills, which are critical to success in college and beyond.

“The breadth and depth of their growth over two years is amazing, in part due to the structure of our students’ schedules and the early access to college life and expectations,” said Calhoun.

The Governor’s School semester has wrapped up with a research symposium and a graduation ceremony for seniors. And with STEM coursework under their belt from George Mason, their paths to success have a foundation of excellence.