Miami, July 1, 2025 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Homestead Campus is hosting the 9th Annual MDC Microbiology Girls Club, a one-of-a-kind summer camp designed to empower and inspire female students to pursue careers in STEM through a unique, immersive experience. The six-week camp, from June 30 – August 8, was founded by Dr. Nia Madison, MDC microbiology professor, Endowed Teaching Chair and HIV researcher.
This year, Dr. Madison will mentor a group of 24 girls, grades 9 – 12, who will collaborate on a variety of exciting experiments. The girls will learn about biological safety before inoculating bacteria into various media for biochemical analysis. After 24 hours of incubation, the media is analyzed to identify the unknown bacterium by examining color and consistency changes. They will learn differential staining techniques and bright field microscopy to identify the unknown bacterium.
The program also features fieldtrips, enriching activities and workshops on time management, career planning, the academic/transfer process, self-publishing, budgeting, saving, computer science programming, building a professional brand, vision boarding, goal-setting and more, culminating with a poster presentation of their experience. In addition, participants engage in 30 minutes of physical activity each day, including dance, stretching, yoga, volleyball and lacrosse.
The Microbiology Girls Club is funded by the American Association of University Women and a five-year ‘Youth Development’ grant by The Children’s Trust.
Students selected to participate this year are from MAST Academy @Homestead, Somerset Academy South Homestead, Center for International Education, John A. Ferguson Senior High School, Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts School, Homestead Senior High School and Cutler Bay Senior High School.
For more information, please contact Dr. Nia Madison at mmadison@mdc.edu.