Science Camp
As they entered their last week at Camp Thornwood, delegates at the National Youth Science Camp were tackling new challenges, new projects and received a lunchtime visit from county commissioner Martin Saffer.
Saffer shared with the students his own experience at the expert hands of a NYSC alum. Seeking out the most advanced technique and best surgeon to help him in his fight wit cancer, Saffer found Dr. William Steers, a pioneer in robotically assisted surgery and the chairman of the urology department at the University of Virginia.
When Saffer told Steers he lived in West Virginia, the commissioner said the doctor asked if he had heard of Bartow.
Saffer said Steers went on to tell him about his time as a high school graduate attending the science camp and described the experience as a turning point in his life and his career.
After his visit to the camp Monday afternoon, Saffer said he was excited by what he saw and hoped the county could do more to work collaboratively with the camp's leadership.
"It presents an opportunity when you have a group of students and people who come to lecture who are leaders in science and math," said Saffer. "It should be inspirational to our young people that these opportunities are happening right in our back yard."
While the National Youth Science Foundation is planning to establish a year-round facility in Tucker County in collaboration with the Canaan Valley Institute, Saffer said he hoped county leaders could work with the group to ensure the camp still has a home in Pocahontas County. The county has been home to the camp, which has been held annually since its inception in 1963 as part of the state's centennial celebration.
In that time, more than 4,300 of the nation's top high school science students have been selected to attend the NYSC, free of cost.
The program has extended beyond the traditional camp to include the Youth Science Discovery Camp and the internationally focussed Youth Science Leadership Institute, which hosted 65 students representing 16 countries last year.
The National Youth Science Foundation also conducts the West Virginia Governor's School for Mathematics and Science, which is held in partnership and on the campus of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank.
Delegates to the four-week science camp are chosen through a competitive process that stresses scholastic excellence, scientific curiosity, well-rounded interests and leadership in applicants' schools and communities. Two recent high school graduates represent each state. This year's camp is also hosting 15 international delegates.
While school is still in session in Argentina, delegate Guille Herz said it was well worth juggling his schedule to attend the science camp. When he returns, just four days before high school graduation, Herz said he must cram in nine different final exams.
"It's worth it," Herz said, "This is awesome. It's hard to believe I'm here."
Herz and other students say they enjoy the mix of activities the camp offers, from rigorous scientific exercises, to enlightening lectures by scientists, engineers and mathematicians-many of them NYSC alums-who now work for NASA, major medical institutions or one of the national laboratories.
Delegates at the NYSC also get to experience a variety of outdoor activities against the backdrop of West Virginia, including mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, fishing and kayaking.
This week, one group of students is also taking in some of the local natural wonders, including the stand of old growth red spruce atop Gaudineer Knob and the ecologically unique Cranberry Glades.