CAMP DESTINATION INNOVATION
STEM & Entrepreneurship-focused career development camp for Wichita, KS-area teens
the camp that creates
innovators
Camp Destination Innovation is an extraordinary summer camp experience for teens ages 14 to 18 in Wichita, Kansas.
Our goal is to showcase promising career paths in STEM and entrepreneurship.
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With an incredible partner network, we are exposing young people to Wichita's best and brightest entrepreneurs, mentors and companies so these teens can learn how to create their own scalable businesses.
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And we're doing it all at a cost of $25 for our campers.
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"Best camp i have been to!"
- Camp DI participant
meet our FOUNDER,
MARQUETTA ATKINs.
"When you put young people in spaces they are not normally supposed to be, they get opportunities they never realized existed,"
- marquetta Atkins
Marquetta Atkins is a community educator who brings her passion for working with youth and her creative energy to the table as a facilitator. For years she has dedicated herself to ensuring that young people are equipped with the tools for a better future. She was born and raised in Wichita, KS and graduated with a degree in Communications from Wichita State University. Her persistence in reaching her educational goals equipped her to be a mentor for high school youth in Wichita, including her own children Devon a senior at WSU and Aimani an incoming freshman at Prairie View A & M University. Marquetta has volunteered with Rise Up for Youth’s C.L.A.S.S., Caring Ladies Assisting Students to Succeed, a program operating in the Wichita public high schools.
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Marquetta’s passion for youth development is rooted in her conviction that youth are the change-makers we need for the transformation of our communities, both today and in the future.
In 2015, she founded Camp Destination Innovation to expose young people to a variety of career options; encouraging them to create their own future. The camp also helps youth explore strategies for entrepreneurship and civic engagement, grounding their professional development in a larger vision for whole and healthy communities.
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Striving to eliminate the barriers facing young people and women as entrepreneurs, Marquetta created Women Entrepreneurs of Kansas (WeKan!), an initiative to support the growth and power of women entrepreneurs. Marquetta’s talented facilitation challenges people to question their own assumptions and dig deeper into critical awareness. Marquetta is a member of the Entrepreneurship Task Force and Evergreen Curriculum Committee. She is also the Community Resources Director for the non-profit organization, The Seed House. Inspired by Maya Angelou, Marquetta seeks to challenge dominant narratives and create the kind of world she wants to live in.
experiences
We are proud to partner with the following organizations to bring our campers one-of-a-kind
experiences
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Featured on National Small Business Association Twitter
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Shark Tank and Trade Show Sponsored by Bank of America
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1st place team presented to Entrepreneurship Task Force
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Featured at Chamber of Commerce Annual Gala and met with Daymond John
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Launch of the Camp Destination Innovation-Accelerator
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Mentor-led business competition
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Educational Field Trips and Sessions
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Winning team presented at Accelerate the Heartland
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And many more accomplishments!
photo gallery
SPONSORS
Our youth are the Best investment we can make that yields the best returns- Camp Destination Innovation is proud to thank these past and present sponsors that have invested in the success of our program:
Additional Sponsors include:
State of Kansas office of Women and Minority Business
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Food Sponsors:
Pinole Blue
Papa John's
and the host of community members who have invested in the camp.
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A special thanks to e2e and a huge thank you to the Wichita, KS entrepreneurial community for providing in-kind field trips and speakers for
Camp Destination Innovation!