AHS student participates in Hiram Field Study
Many would dread taking the time out of their summer to attend any sort of event that is relating to education, but for senior Christina Boehm, the idea of attending a science camp just made her summer that much better. Christina, who is busy with a grueling course load, being an officer of Science Olympiad, being an active member of Key Club, being a member of NHS, and working a job, seems to still have it all figured out.
The camp that Christina attended, was called the Hiram Field Study Camp, which was located at Hiram College. Guidance Counselor, April Nenadal, notified Christina on one of the last days of the past school year, thinking that Christina would be a perfect fit for a camp like this. The learning spanned over three days and two nights, where the nights were spent outside, among nature, in a tent.
When describing her experience sleeping outside, Christina said, “It started hurricaning one night when we were in tents, and then we ran inside and it was fantastic.” Although, she wasn’t enthralled, to be caught out in the heavy rain, she was excited to at least experience it, and to bond with nature.
The fact that the camp consisted of a combination of lab work and appreciating nature outside, made for a well rounded experience. In the lab, the attendees swabbed wild frogs for various diseases, and to connect this to in the field work, Christina memorized the vocalizations different breeds of frogs to identify them in their natural habitat.
Students attending the Field Study also got a fair amount of exercise in by hiking around the 500 acre property, catching and identifying birds in nets, like that pictured below. Christina also collected and completed random sampling of various vegetation from the green areas.
About the lab work Christina said, “It sparked my interest because that’s what I want to do.” She continued, “I think I may want to be out in the field more than in a lab in whatever career I end up in, but I know they sort of go hand and hand.”
I asked if Christina learned anything about living more sustainably. She let out a small chuckle, when recognizing the fact that Miss Pavicic had “gotten” to me. Miss Pavicic’s AP Environmental science curriculum consists of a great deal of information on living sustainably, which Christina took last year, in her junior year of high school.
The campers did activities like going down to the river to collect and test water samples and observed how greatly the fish populations had declined due to pollution. Apparently, the college did a project to help the pollution, where the water quality of the river had then improved.
Students can also expect to not be doing grueling work all day every day of the camp. The campers got to relax and enjoy campfires with s’mores during the evenings.
Nearing the end of our talk, the whole disposition of Christina’s face had lightened up once she got into the details about the Hiram Field Study Camp. Of those students that seem to prefer math and sciences in school, very few take it to the next level and pursue their interests outside of a school setting. Christina Boehm is an excellent example of the students that go above and beyond to enhance their abilities and become more equipped to face the future in college, or wherever successful path life leads them.
