D’Nari Mills
9th Grade, Cypress Woods High School
G.R.A.D.E. Camp
“At first I wanted to be a cheerleader, but it’s a lot of practice and I grew tired of it. Then, when I was eight or nine, I attended a STEM camp and I really liked it. I just like to take things apart and put things back together.
I want to be a mechanical engineer when I grow up because I want to make new things, and have new ideas about how to help the community, how to help the environment and be successful.
There’s a need for camps like G.R.A.D.E. Camp because a lot of people think girls can’t be engineers. Engineering is not just a guy thing, it’s for girls too. Girls can learn to do it and have fun.
My advice for anyone considering G.R.A.D.E. Camp is just do it because it’ll be a fun experience and you’ll meet new people, and it gives you more ideas about what jobs you can do and how interesting they are.”
G.R.A.D.E. stands for Girls Reaching And Demonstrating Excellence. G.R.A.D.E Camp is a one-week program for girls, ages 13 to 17, at the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston.