Organized by physical chemist Chong Fang and Juntos Statewide Coordinator José García, we have successfully held the Fifth Annual Juntos Chemistry Overnight Camp (JCOC) on the beautiful OSU Campus from June 25-26, 2022. Twenty Latino high school students (9 girls and 11 boys) attended the JCOC this year from Central Oregon (2: Caldera HS and Culver HS), Polk County (3: Central HS, Independence), Yamhill County (7: McMinnville HS), Multnomah County (2: Reynolds HS, Troutdale), Marion County (5: Woodburn HS), and Lincoln County (1: Taft HS, Lincoln City) throughout the State of Oregon. This year's summer camp was jointly funded by OSU Open Campus and Ji / Fang’s NSF grant, with additional support from the Department of Chemistry.

Kudos to the camp chaperones Taylor Krueger, Jay Solaris, Seth Johnson, and Logan Lancaster, who made the camp such a welcoming and inspiring event. We also want to extend our thanks to Tara Stacy and Luanne Johnson who helped to put the swag bags together, Kristi Edwards, Margie Haak, Jenna Moser, and Greg Jones for the chemistry lab supplies. More details can be found in the August 16 news article published in the OSU COS iMPACT magazine "Youth explore, investigate and discover at fun-filled annual Juntos Chemistry Camp" by Hannah Ashton, as well as the Oregon State Science tweet.

“Despite the lingering pandemic, I cherish the opportunity to co-organize the 5th JCOC on campus for 20 Latino high-school students from western, central, and coastal Oregon via the highly successful Juntos program at OSU. The two-day event was engaging, informative, and fun”, Dr. Fang reflected after the camp, “I truly appreciate all the efforts by dedicated student organizing team with four graduate students, Taylor, Jay, Logan, and Seth, as well as chemistry departmental office and lab staff, who made the JCOC such a welcoming and inspiring event for all the campers. The smile and wows from students throughout the camp have kept us going for such an effective outreach event on an annual basis, and we continue to learn from each other to make this world a better place for all.”

Best wishes to all, and we look forward to the sixth JCOC next June!