
The University of New Mexico
NEWS RELEASE
Media Contact: Laurie Mellas, lmellas@unm.edu , 505-277-5915
April 13, 2007
Summer Aerospace and Technology Camps for Top Cadets held at UNM
U.S. Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) will hold four Summer Aerospace and Technology Honor Camps at UNM in 2007, announced Mandie Pritchard, student programs specialist, UNM College Enrichment & Outreach Programs (CEOP). UNM College Prep Programs, UNM Air Force ROTC and Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque are sponsors.
The camps, serving at total of 216 students, will take place June 10-15, June 24-29, July 8-13 and July 22-27. Collectively, they are one of only two large AFJROTC honors camp contingents in the nation. The University of Oklahoma and Tinker AFB host four camps serving a similar number of cadets.
The objective of each AFJROTC Aerospace and Technology Honors camp, or ATCH, is “to introduce high-achieving high school cadets to scientific, technical, and top rated career opportunities in the Air Force,” according to AFJROTC literature. “Students selected for the camps have a minimum GPA of 3.0, are rising sophomores, junors, or seniors, enrolled in college prep math and science courses, and have demonstrated leadership potential.”
In addition, “Applicants represent the top one half of one percent of the approximately 110,000 AFJROTC cadets worldwide.”
Each camp will host 54 cadets from around the U.S. and abroad. Thousands of applicants apply each year for the limited space in the camps. The curriculum includes learning about aeropace education, Air Force opportunities, and college campus life, with an emphasis on encouraging students to apply for admission to a college or university. At the camps, students will have speakers and instructors who are faculty in the engineering, physics, mathmatics, and chemistry departments.
The June 10-15 camp will be an “all-services” camp, said Judy Ortiz-Aragon, a student recruiter with UNM AFJROTC. Air Force cadets will participate alongside JROTC cadets in the Army, Navy, and Marines.
Activities include tours of New Mexico labs, a Rocket Car demonstration in conjunction with the Minority Undergraduate Engineering Program, VIP guest speakers, visit to a regional airport for flight instruction where students will pilot small planes, helicopter ride to Santa Fe, trips to museums and historical sites; and a formal dinner, during which a graduation ceremony will be held.
The AFJROTC camp is overseen by Camp Coordinator Lt. Colonel Dan Eddy and Curriculum Coordinator Naomi Mitchell, both from Maxwell AFB in Alabama.
For more information about Air Force Junior ROTC and the Aerospace & Technology Honors Camp program, contact AFJROTC Headquarters at 1-800-235-7682 ext. 3-9488, or log on to www.afoats.af.mil/afjrotc. Or contact Judy Ortiz-Aragon, AFROTC Student Recruiter at the University of New Mexico, at 505-277-4502 or m43058@unm.edu.
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