The PATHwayS Camp is a free, one-week (July 24-28) NASA camp for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students 18 and older to work in teams to respond to this challenge: “Design a fictional self-enclosed system that could be used to support human life on Mars for 1 year. How can you ensure thriving in addition to just surviving? Consider the various aspects of living: health, communications, community, water, food, or energy systems.” The camp will include field trips and presentations that will help guide students to design the life support system. This camp is free for the 15 students who are accepted. Applications are due April 30. For more information, email Aimee.Bonanno@umb.edu.

PATHS is a new coalition of two minority serving institutions, UMASS Boston and Bunker Hill Community College, with funding from NASA, working to increase diversity in engineering in Massachusetts. The group supports students to explore STEM activities, persist through the barriers by finding a path that works for them, and change the status quo.