2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Over the past two decades, summer camps across the US have served as a key strategy for cultivating interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers among high school students, as well as in the disciplines that support these fields. The impact of such interventions is well documented, particularly among participating high school students, with immediate outcomes mostly showing a positive influence on their interest in STEM careers and related disciplines. At the same time, most of the measurements have been conducted immediately after the summer camp. It is unclear if, after a significant duration of the summer camp, the participants still have a positive outlook towards STEM careers and the disciplines that underpin these fields. Therefore, this research investigates the perceptions of high school students six months after the intervention (a summer camp at a university in AA state) to determine if their perceptions have changed or remained the same. For this study, an online survey was used to collect data, hosted on Qualtrics. The study population consisted of high school students who had participated in a STEM summer camp within the past six months. The study received responses from 18 high school students. The research findings indicate how participation in summer camps influences high school students' perceptions in the long run.