savannah pruitt a camper from franklin texas originally came to geox with only meteorology in mind but the diverse activities quickly broadened her horizons visiting the bp headquarters got me really interested in the oil and gas field pruitt said and oceanography really intrigued me as well regardless of what major she chooses pruitt has already set her mind to apply to the college and join the corps of cadets to enlist in the us air force after graduation basically shes sold the counselors are the x-factor nunez said most of our current counselors came to this camp as high schoolers so they know what anxieties the campers might have about going away to college trying to fit in and getting lost in a university this size since many of the counselors were once in the campers shoes nunez explained theyre able to mentor campers and form a strong bond with them over the course of the camp session geox counselor and meteorology major quinton lawton 19 described his time attending as a camper in 2015 when i came into this camp i was immediately surrounded by people i connected with because they had the same interests as me lawton said by the end of the first day we were all buddy-buddy the instant connection he made with his fellow campers lasted long past the weeks endmany became his college peers pruitt echoed this sentiment during the 2019 camp session the first night i was really nervous as soon as my parents left so i sat at the very top row and waited for someone to talk to me she said eventually another girl sat down next to me wearing a meteorology shirt so i started talking to her i now have a group of several friends and were super close she said this three-and-a-half days after arriving at the camp a priceless experience of the 58 high school seniors who attended the 2018 geox camp 100 percent of them applied to the college of geosciences and 100 percent were admitted geox has easily become the colleges most reliable recruiting tool and theres some clear reasons why for example the college selects campers based on gpa class rank and strong interest statements to ensure that every camper arrives with a curious mind and a passion for learning perhaps the most important asset to the camps success however is the way in which the college deals with the cost barrier that could discourage potential campers: by removing it completely thanks to generous sponsorships from bp and other corporate and private donors the college completely subsidizes the cost of running the camp students admitted to geox attend free of charge for campers like rebecca reisinger from spring texas that was a decisive selling point it means so much to attend this camp for free and i couldnt have attended otherwise reisinger said theres so much value that all 60 of us are getting out of this it costs about $1 200 to sponsor an individual camper but to college of geosciences dean debbie thomas the impression the camp makes on each student is priceless our campers all arrive with a deep passion for the geosciences thomas said through the immersive experience made possible by our gifted staff and faculty the campers develop a critical connection between their passion and the rewarding career paths that await them the most powerful dimension of that experience however is the aggie experience she continued as campers learn more about the geosciences they also engage in aggie traditions and learn about the all-encompassing spirit that makes this university special most of our campers return home from geox knowing that they are going to be texas a&m aggies students come to geox looking for a place where they can learn and build a career theyre passionate about somewhere along the way they find a place where they can belong by bailey payne '19 originally published by the texas a&m foundation while the geox program is made free by its current sponsors the college of geosciences is requesting a major endowment to ensure the long-term viability of the program and to fund scholarships for students attending the camp to learn more about how you can support geox and/or sponsor a camper visit giveam/geoxexplorationcamp or contact senior director of development gary reynolds 88 at greynolds@txamfoundationcom or (979) 862-4944