[Jon Stratis]

We find that our summer camp is a great way to recruit students. We're starting the second week (of two), and we have 20 students at the camp this year, over half of them new!

We do demo's at local middle schools after the build season is over, then include information about the camp in a school mailing to the incoming freshmen parents. The basic idea is to get the students excited so they talk about it when the parents ask "what did you do at school today?", then remind the family about it a month or so later when they can sign up for the camp. The mailing emphasizes that no experience is necessary!

Since the camp is held over the summer and only a 2-week commitment (and we have a few who only come one week, or can only make it on certain nights), it really allows new students to give it a try without worry. After all, they aren't signing up to build a full robot or for a 6-week long build season with homework from classes every night. We make sure the camp includes something they can take home to share with their family and be proud of. Generally speaking, most of the students that come to the camp end up signing up with the team full time, and we can usually get a couple of friends who hear about the camp once school starts and want to tag along to the fall season.

The big thing is doing anything you can to get the kids in the door. Once they're in, they're hooked! We have one student this year who had told us she could only come for the first night of the build season, and we said "Great!". She showed up, had a good time, and the next day we had an e-mail from her mom telling us that she was hooked, and that they reworked their schedule so she could make a couple other full summer meetings, and the last half of a few others.