Northampton seniors receive Indigenous STEM Award

Abbigail and Hannah Locklear, rising seniors at Northampton High School in Eastville, Virginia, visited Washington, D.C. July 23 to 27, 2023 to participate in the annual “Pursuit of Indigenous STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)” Microsoft camp.  The Locklears are members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.  Only fifty Indigenous high school students from twenty different tribes from around the country were selected to attend.  STEM camp participants were chosen by an essay entry on the theme of “How does STEM Impact the Environment?”

The week-long camp took place at Microsoft’s DC/Reston offices.  In addition to learning about cybersecurity technology at Microsoft, Abbigail and Hannah Locklear and the other STEM campers toured the White House, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and the State Department.  They also visited Capital One to learn about financial literacy.  The goal of the camp is to provide hands-on and networking experience in order for participants to envision themselves in STEM careers.

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