A busy month keeps getting better—and busier
In previous years, July was Daddy-Daughter trips month. Now, however, the month is still all about the girls, but it’s not all about Daddy-Daughter time anymore.
July has always been our busiest month of the year, between summer travel and Daddy-Daughter trips. This year has been much the same but different. In late June through early July, Arden attended an invite-only, advanced engineering camp at Rice University in Houston. She chose the residential option, which meant she stayed on campus in a dorm for seven days, so I got an Aribnb and worked from Houston for a week.
The Rice Center for Engineering Leadership’s Elite Tech camps are a great way for kids to learn about and get hands-on experience with the various areas of engineering they hope to study in latter years. Taught by college students, the classes give attendees intensive science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) experiences, while allowing them to apply their skills in class by solving real world problems.
Arden ate up the college-like experience, including making some great friends from throughout the U.S. She said the training received in the Robotics program at Carroll ISD helped her a lot in being prepared for the challenging camp.
I’m glad she had fun, learned a lot and made several friends, who she now talks to daily.
St. Jude Leadership Society
Later in the month—that is earlier this week—we flew to Memphis for a gala event recognizing St. Jude Leadership Society members. Arden was selected earlier this year to be a member of the student group, which allows high school and college students to make meaningful connections with peers, mentors and business leaders, with the goal of supporting St. Jude patients and families.
What we didn’t know, however, was that she would receive the award for top high school student fundraiser in her region. She worked her tail off since February to raise funds, so seeing it pay off with the award was a huge accomplishment for her and point of pride for me and Rachel.
Even more important, she’s excited to continue fundraising for the organization, especially so after taking a tour of the flagship location in Memphis, Tenn.
ALSO…
While in Memphis, we also visited the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel, Beale Street and the famous Blues City Cafe. We packed a lot into a few days of travel; it was well worth it.
