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"This is the first time they’ve ever touched a fish”: W&M’s Camp Launch program at VIMS and the Batten School aims to change lives

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by Ethan Smith |  September 18, 2024

“The goal is to expose students to marine science in a fun, engaging way. We try not to lecture to them; it’s all about being hands-on in the classroom, or in the lab or in the field.”

Lisa Ayers Lawrence is describing the William & Mary (W&M) Camp Launch experience at VIMS and W&M’s Batten School for Coastal & Marine Sciences. As the Marine Education Program Leader for VIMS’ Marine Advisory Program (MAP), Lawrence has seen firsthand the inspirational impact Camp Launch makes in the lives and career aspirations of participating students.

“A lot of times, this is the first time they’ve ever touched a fish,” she said, “but from the start of camp to the end, they’re more likely to see themselves as a scientist.” In fact, while an average of 44% of incoming ninth-grade campers agree with the statement, “I am a scientist,” that number grows to 65% by the time 10th graders are concluding their Camp Launch experience at VIMS and the Batten School.

The W&M School of Education’s Center for Gifted Education (CFGE) began Camp Launch in 2012 to serve high-ability, low-socioeconomic seventh- through 10th-grade students with unique academic and enrichment opportunities, helping their educational and career trajectories take flight into a brighter future. Since 2015, Camp Launch has been made possible through the generous support of Nancy Briggs Petters ’81 and Mike M. Petters M.B.A. ’93 and the Petters Family Foundation.

VIMS and the Batten School have now been a part of CFGE’s Camp Launch for four years. “We got involved because of W&M President Rowe,” said Lawrence. “When she came and heard about all of our educational resources, she wanted us involved in Camp Launch.”

The Camp Launch experience at VIMS and the Batten School, run by MAP and the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia (CBNERR-VA), provides students entering ninth and 10th grade with unique opportunities for hands-on marine science learning during the two-week science enrichment camp.

"Seining, canoeing, museums, experiments, and tours I think were amazing options,” said one recent camper. Other student-favorite activities include fishing, performing dissections of dogfish and squid and collecting data.

This summer, VIMS and the Batten School welcomed 33 rising ninth-grade students and 13 rising 10th-grade students. While VIMS and Batten School educators provide marine science education via laboratory and field experiences, faculty, staff and students share their research and serve as mentors and career role models. The Camp Launch experience on the VIMS campus culminates for the ninth-grade students with a research report, and for the 10th-grade students with a research project.

“We’ve also been very successful in bringing in local school teachers to be teaching assistants in the Camp Launch groups,” said CBNERR-VA Education Coordinator Sarah Nuss. “It’s been a really nice partnership, and it gives them a chance to see and try new things. Many of them say, ‘I’m testing this out and I’m going to do this in my own classroom.'”

“The field-based experiences they’re having at VIMS and the Batten School are very different from what they get in school,” said Lawrence. “They’re seeing new things, getting engaged and excited about learning, and they really look forward to coming back.”