From Camper to Mentor: DiscoverE Instructor Comes Full Circle

As Katherine Aikema watches a group of campers test their latest engineering creation, the scene feels familiar.

More than 15 years ago, she sat in the same classrooms as a DiscoverE camper, building projects, asking questions and dreaming about the day she would finally learn to solve a Rubik's Cube.

Now entering the final semester of her Bachelor of Arts in linguistics with a minor in psychology at the U of A, Aikema has come full circle. After working as an instructor last summer and as a curriculum specialist throughout the academic year, she has returned as a senior instructor, helping create the same sense of excitement she experienced as a child.

"I felt like I belonged already," she says. "I was a DiscoverE kid."

For more than three decades, the Fred Otto DiscoverE Program has introduced children and youth to science, technology, engineering and mathematics through hands-on learning experiences. This summer, the program is employing 64 student staff, running 13 on-campus camps each week, and is nearly sold out with more than 2,300 campers registered. New this year, Civil and Environmental Engineering camps have expanded to all grade levels, and off-campus programming will reach Alexander First Nation for the first time.

A Spark That Lasted

Aikema first attended DiscoverE in 2009 when she was seven years old and returned for six summers.

Her earliest memory isn't of an engineering concept—it's of watching older campers perform a routine with Rubik's Cubes during a camp show.

"I just remember being so excited watching them," she says. "I thought, 'This is the place that's going to teach me how to solve a Rubik's Cube.' Years later, when I was old enough to take that camp, DiscoverE really was the place that taught me how."

Although Aikema ultimately chose to study linguistics rather than engineering, the program left a lasting impression. When it came time to apply for university, she knew exactly where she wanted to be.

"I was just happy to go to the U of A," she says. "I don't know if that had to do with the familiarity from spending time there as a kid, but I was confident that was where I wanted to be."

Returning to Inspire Others

Today, Aikema helps create those same experiences for a new generation of campers. What she hopes they take away goes beyond engineering.

"I really want campers to understand that there's a place for everyone in STEM, in whatever capacity works for them," she says. "This can be your biggest passion in life, or it can be something you do on the side. Either way, there's a space in this community for you."

For Aikema, DiscoverE demonstrated that curiosity doesn't have to fit neatly into a single discipline. While she chose to study linguistics and psychology, she has continued to stay connected to STEM through DiscoverE, combining her interests in teaching, communication and science outreach.

Building Future Innovators

For DiscoverE Operations Manager Sarah Rianson, stories like Aikema's reflect exactly what the program is designed to do. 

"Our goal is for kids to have fun first and foremost," says Rianson. "We want them to see that engineering is an option—that engineering is cool—but this is a summer camp. We want campers to leave having had a great experience and with something they can take home that reminds them of the fun they had."

One of her favourite moments is seeing former campers return as instructors.

"I always really like seeing that because it means they had such a good experience as a child that they wanted to come back," she says. "It really makes me feel like it's working. We're trying to inspire kids, and then they come back wanting to inspire the next generation."

Working at DiscoverE also helps university students develop skills that last long after the summer ends.

"Presentation skills are huge," says Rianson. "Our staff learn to be adaptable, flexible and stay calm when things don't go according to plan. They're the adults in the room, and they learn how to lead with confidence."

A Full-Circle Journey

When asked what she would tell her seven-year-old self on that first day of camp, Aikema smiles.

"I'd tell her this isn't something that's going away," she says. "It turns out this is going to be something that's important in your life when you're older."

For Aikema, DiscoverE was more than a summer camp. It was the beginning of a journey that eventually led back to the classroom—this time at the front, inspiring the next generation to discover where their own curiosity might lead.