Camp encourages STEM students

The new Honda Automotive Labs of Ohio (HALO) will draw auto manufacturers from all over the world, and recently, it drew students from across the U.S., Canada and Peru.

Thanks to The Ohio State University's partnership with Honda, 25 students visited the wind tunnel and learned about jobs in the automotive industry as part of Camp CAR. The weeklong summer day camp for students in grades 10-12 offers a chance to learn about automotive research, engineering and mobility. Honda has offered activities for campers for several years, as a long-time Ohio State partner.

"In the past few years, we have participated in the Camp CAR event because of the obvious alignment between Honda and the Center for Automotive Research," said Meredith Reffey, Honda's Ohio State University partnership lead. "Honda associates were able to expose the students to our Assembly interactive training module, as well as give them an introduction to software development."

Honda offered the students the software and virtual training again, along with a tour of the new wind tunnel. "The students went to the Transportation Research Center (TRC) and toured the HALO Wind Tunnel, and then did software and interactive training activities," Reffey said, noting that the students and attending graduate students had a wonderful time. "Then, the students were bused around the TRC track."

Camp CAR is free, but competitive. According to Colleen Herr, communications specialist at Ohio State's College of Engineering Center for Automotive Research, 100 students applied for 25 spots.

"We are looking for campers who have a genuine interest in automotive engineering and mobility," she said. "It's been amazing that word of Camp CAR has spread literally around the world, and we want to make sure that applicants from different areas have the opportunity to attend. Having that diversity is also beneficial to the campers because they get to learn from each other."

Different perspectives is what Honda looks for in associates, which is another reason Honda seeks to partner with educational institutions like The Ohio State University. By working with students that bring different perspectives to the table, Honda hopes to show them different opportunities in the automotive industry and what Honda can offer.

"There was a lot of good engagement with students and a lot of great questions for the HALO associates," Reffey said.

"The campers absolutely loved the HALO Wind Tunnel," Herr agreed. "Many said it was the highlight of their week!"

And comments from students reflected that.

"HALO was my favorite part of camp," said Prescott Hatzler, a student at Big Walnut High School in Galena, Ohio. "I thoroughly enjoyed touring the wind tunnel and seeing all of the backside engineering that goes into testing!"

"I really loved the HALO facility," said Joshua Trujillo, a home-schooled student from Charlotte, North Carolina. "I loved the exclusivity we had during the tour."

Ohio State industrial systems engineer major Madison Chitwood even gave a group of the Camp CAR students a tour. Chitwood finished up her first co-op term with Honda last month and worked at the wind tunnel over the summer, shouldering facilities responsibilities such as working on bids, taking inventory and much more.

"It was really full circle because you could see a spark coming to the eyes of people, especially when you see the wind tunnel's fan," she said. "It really makes you excited to continue pursuing a STEM future. It was cool to be able to show that to people who may go to Ohio State University or work for Honda. I hope they'll remember this cool experience."

And that's just what Camp CAR wants to do.

"Through hands-on activities, conversations with engineers and grad students and facility tours both inside and outside Ohio State, we want students to end the week with a better understanding of what goes into the various aspects of automotive engineering and what opportunities are available to them both in college and in their future careers," Herr said.

by Jennifer Bishop, Honda Communications