The Alex Foundation, in partnership with the J. Austin White Cultural Center, held its annual Architecture+Design Summer Camp July 26-30 at the center in Eudora. The free camp offered 12-14 year olds a program in design.
The youth had design workshops with educators and architects, toured historic sites and completed projects, according to a news release from Angela Courtney, Alex Foundation executive director.
Campers were introduced to "No Small Plans," a graphic novel that follows the neighborhood adventures of teens in Chicago's past, present and future as they wrestle with designing the city they want, need and deserve.
After discussing the book, youth were introduced to a design challenge to construct their future City of Eudora models and to present their designs on the last day of summer camp.
On hand as judges of the design challenge were Eudora Mayor Tomeka Butler and Chief of Police Carl McCree. First-place winners were Elijah Stanton and Dana Solorio. Elijah's design was an industrial park. Dana's design was a pop-up park.
Second-place winner was Jer'Don Hunt. Jer'Don's design was a spike trap to help the police apprehend criminals. Third-place winner was Eric Mondragon. Eric's design was a soccer field.
First place received $50, second place received $25 and third place received $15. The designs were selected based on creativity, originality, benefit for citizens, knowledge and presentation, according to the release.
In the digital design category, Jaiden Washington won first place and received $50 for most accomplished. Elijah Stanton won second place and received $25 for most proficient.
Architect Nakita Reed worked with students and judged the digital designs. Reed is an award-winning architect with experience in the preservation, restoration and adaptive use of historic buildings, with a focus on sustainable strategies in design and construction, according to the release.
Other activities throughout the week included building a house shelf and painting designs on canvas.
Two Alex Foundation summer interns -- Kathy Mondragon of Lake Village and Janett Solorio of Eudora-- worked with the campers throughout the program.
Mondragon and Solorio are 2021 Lakeside School District graduates embarking upon their respective college educational pursuits in STEM. Janett is a biology major on a premed track, and Kathy is a nursing major.
Educators Stacey and Ron McAdoo were also presenters. Stacey McAdoo is the founding Arkansas state director for Teach Plus and the 2019 Arkansas Teacher of the Year.
Youth participated in two historic tours in Lake Village: New Hope Baptist Church -- the oldest Black church in Arkansas -- and Lakeport Plantation Museum. While at the museum, youth had an opportunity to fly drones.
During part of the camp, students were involved with an engineering activity on pressure, weight and force using a metal weight.
James Canatella of Lake Village and Mike Caulfield of Greenville, both with Greenville-based W.L. Burle Engineers, P.A., gave a presentation on civil and structural engineering.
Campers also had a glimpse into the world of science, technology, engineering and math as it relates to white collar and cyber crime in a presentation with Ray Montague -- a tenured professor of criminal justice and executive director of online learning and faculty mentoring at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Montague is also the son of the late Raye Montague, Arkansas' "Hidden Figure" and naval engineer.
The Architecture+Design camp was the last of three summer camps hosted by the Alex Foundation and its partners, of which all were free to participants due to the generosity of supporters.
The Alex Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, was established in 2010 to provide students learning experiences in architecture, design, and the built environment. Details: www.alex-foundation.org.
J. Austin White Cultural Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization offering music, art, theater and other activities for youth in Southeast Arkansas.
