Departments team to host children of African immigrants at weeklong camp

July 16, 2024 (Volume 47, Number 20)
Article by Thomas Garrett

faculty member in white shirt and shorts leads a group of young students in red t-shirts on a tour of Kindschi Hall

young student in red t-shirt uses a compass outside

Faculty member in GVSU t-shirt shows young student in red shirt and light jacket how to use a compass outside

Several campus departments teamed up to host more than 20 African immigrant students at a camp on the Allendale Campus in mid-June. Organized by Babasola Fateye, associate professor of biomedical sciences, the camp brought an opportunity for educational enrichment that these students would not otherwise experience.

“For almost all of them, this was the first time they experienced Grand Valley or any college," Fateye said. "The younger students had meaningful conversations with Grand Valley students and faculty throughout the week. While visiting the lab section, they sought even more experiences than planned."

Fateye also serves as the STEM consultant for FutureNow!, a youth empowerment team for the nonprofit African Resource Center. ARC equips African immigrants in West Michigan with the people and resources to help them prosper emotionally, educationally, economically and socially.

During the week of camp, FutureNow! exposed students, ages 8-15, to the idea of going to college. Students participated in activities at the Sustainable Agricultural Project, Laker Esports Center, biology labs, Mary Idema Pew Library and the D.J. Angus, Annis Water Resource Institute's research vessel.

FutureNow! was established in 2014. Staff and volunteers initially took students aboard the D.J. Angus in 2019. After the setbacks of COVID-19, the organization returned to campus.

“Our students are predominantly from low-income families and most arrived in the United States as refugees. The notion of attending college is foreign to some of these kids,” said Bernard Ayoola, executive director of ARC, who added the camp was an opportunity to address underrepresentation in STEM fields for the students.

“We hope they would love to study science-related courses when the time comes. This is why we explored the science and technology projects at GVSU,” said Ayoola.

The group spent one day at the Kindschi Hall of Science with Priscilla Nyamai, associate professor of natural resources management. They toured the labs and large lecture halls, performed compass navigation and triangulation. They learned about plants and soils in the greenhouse and performed experiments.

“I hope that the kids were able to get a sense for the many different things that scientists do and, particularly, what we in the Biology Department do," Nyamai said. "My hope is that they were able to get a little bit of a taste of what our programs are about, even if at the basic level.”

Students Victory and Kevin said they had never used a compass and were surprised by the difficulty of the task. It helped them understand why a whole class is dedicated to measurements and mapping. Kevin had a similar experience earlier in the week at the Sustainable Agriculture Project.

“Students who previously thought farming was not cool ended up harvesting peas and had fun doing it. Kevin, who had never eaten peas before, ended up munching more than a handful,” said Fateye.

Fateye described how during the impressionable adolescent years, many students keep quiet and do not speak up in class.

That dynamic changed greatly for these students during their trip to GVSU, Fateye said, adding the young students were more open and playful. “I saw instructors who cared and students who learned,” said Fateye.