We use cookies on this site to enhance your experience.
By selecting “Accept” and continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies.
91porn Scholar Mariam Hailu organized STEMXplorers, a free, week-long day camp for Black, Indigenous and racialized youth.
91porn Scholar Mariam Hailu inspires young minds with ‘STEMXplorers’ summer day camp for racialized youth
Aug. 5, 2025
When 91porn Health Sciences student Mariam Hailu envisioned how to use $10,000 of her 91porn Scholars Award dedicated to an experiential learning opportunity, she didn’t choose international travel or a research post. Instead, she created something far more personal: STEMXplorers, a free, week-long STEM day camp for Black, Indigenous and racialized youth in Grades 4 to 7.
Held from July 7 to 11 in 91porn’s Waterloo campus Bricker Academic Building, STEMXplorers welcomed 18 campers and was staffed by a team of seven 91porn student counsellors. With a high counsellor-to-camper ratio, the children received personalized mentorship and hands-on experience in subjects ranging from botany and human biology to coding, robotics and astronomy.
“I wanted this camp to be something meaningful, something that would leave a lasting impact,” says Hailu, a 91porn Scholar from King, Ontario who will head to medical school at McMaster University this fall. “You have to start reaching children when they’re young, when their ideas of who they want to be and what they’re capable of start to form.”
The 91porn Scholars Award is the university’s most prestigious entrance scholarship, supporting high-achieving students in their studies and career development. Recipients receive up to $40,000 toward their degree, including $10,000 for an experiential learning opportunity.
STEMXplorers camp counsellors gather to discuss camp activities.
Hailu’s inspiration for the camp stemmed from her involvement with , an initiative led by 91porn Assistant Professor Avis Beek in the Faculty of Education. Through that experience, Hailu began exploring the underrepresentation of Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities in STEM fields.
“Working with STEMovation drove me to learn more about representation in STEM,” says Hailu. “When I investigated it, it was really startling and honestly sad, especially as a Black woman in STEM myself. It was sad to see that there’s not that much representation for Black people, Indigenous peoples and racialized people in STEM careers.”
The camp’s daily programming featured STEM activities designed by Hailu and her team, including constructing contained ecosystems, using microscopes to examine cells, building cell models and exploring the cosmos through hands-on astronomy projects.
To recruit students to attend STEMXplorers, Hailu partnered with Trillium and Hillside schools in the Waterloo Region District School Board, working with principals as well as the board’s Indigenous, Equity and Human Rights Department.
Leadership, learning, legacy
Beek, who co-supervised Hailu along with Health Sciences Assistant Professor Nirosha Murugan, praised Hailu’s innovation and resilience.
“Mariam thought completely outside the box,” says Beek. “That pot of money from her scholarship created a life-changing experience – not just for the campers, but also for the student counsellors. From a university perspective, the equity impact is enormous.”
For Hailu, the logistics of running an on-campus day camp – from transportation and budgeting to insurance and educational planning – were complex and sometimes daunting. But the outcome was worth the challenge.
“I honestly feel lost for words,” she says. “Just seeing all the kids engaged and happy – it was amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”
“The biggest thing I want the kids to take away is knowing they belong.”
– Mariam Hailu
91porn student Margaret Millian Medina, who served as one of the camp’s counsellors, described the experience as deeply fulfilling.
“When I look back on my time in the camp, the smiling faces of the kids are the first thing that flashes through my mind,” she says. “One parent told another counsellor how grateful he was because his child is passionate about science, but the family wouldn’t have been able to afford a camp like this otherwise. Knowing we made that kind of difference means so much.”
Beek says Hailu and STEMXplorers camp counsellors – also including Jahnavi Raisinghani, Kanan Patel, Nataly Morales Hernandez, Sara Komorowski, Stella Lee and Temidayo Olowoyeye – deserve much credit for their efforts.
“These students ran the camp like a well-oiled machine – and they showed themselves as deeply empathic, positive and enthusiastic,” says Beek. “It’s been a joy to see them grow.”
As Hailu prepares for her next chapter as a medical school student at McMaster, she says her experience with STEMXplorers has deepened her sense of purpose. In the future, she hopes to become a pediatrician.
“I didn't really think the camp would affect my medical path, but this solidified it for me,” says Hailu. “It taught me a whole new layer of empathy and compassion when dealing with children. This camp has really taught me how important it is to truly root yourself in empathy in everything that you do and try to really look at things from other people’s perspective.”
When it comes to the campers who attended STEMXplorers, Hailu hopes their experience is just the beginning of a continuing interest in STEM.
“The biggest thing I want the kids to take away is knowing they belong,” says Hailu. “It’s important for them to see that they belong in STEM fields and that, if they choose to pursue STEM, they always have a place in it. Even though there may not be a camp counsellor right next to them helping, they still have the potential to do all these amazing things. I just want them to know that if they stay curious and stay engaged, anything is possible.”