MDC Homestead Microbiology Girls Club Marks 10 Years

For six weeks each summer, a group of young women from Miami-Dade County high schools trade textbooks for lab coats, pipettes and microscopes.

This summer marks the 10th annual Microbiology Girls Club Summer Camp at Miami Dade College’s Homestead Campus, a six-week program that introduces students in grades 7 through 12 to hands-on laboratory science, STEM mentorship, college readiness, financial literacy and wellness activities.

The 2026 camp runs from June 15 through July 24 and includes 24 participants from seven Miami-Dade County high schools. The program is funded by The Children’s Trust and led by M. Nia Madison, professor of microbiology and Health Foundation of South Florida Endowed Teaching Chair at MDC Homestead.

“I’m excited and proud to facilitate the program every summer, particularly this summer in our 10th year,” Madison wrote in a welcome letter to participants.

Over the past decade, Madison has helped guide more than 400 undergraduate and high school research interns through her programs. The Microbiology Girls Club has become one of the campus’s key efforts to help young women see themselves in science and prepare for college-level STEM opportunities.

Each weekday from 10 a.m. to noon, students work in the undergraduate microbiology laboratory on MDC Homestead’s campus. The curriculum includes aseptic technique, brightfield microscopy, differential staining, biochemical testing and an unknown bacterial identification project. Later lessons introduce eukaryotic biology, including fungi, parasites, algae and protozoa, as well as experiments involving baker’s yeast, blood typing and urinalysis.

The program concludes July 24 with research poster presentations and an awards luncheon for participants and their families.

In addition to lab work, the camp takes students beyond the classroom through field trips tied to science and environmental careers. This summer’s schedule includes visits to Atlantic Sapphire Bluehouse Salmon in Homestead, the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and the Miami Waterkeeper Floating Classroom at Black Point Marina. A visit to the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center is also part of the program schedule.

Mentorship is another major part of the camp. During daily lunches, students hear from professional women working in STEM fields, including researchers, engineers, professors and graduate fellows. Over the course of the six-week program, participants are introduced to 30 women at different stages of STEM careers.

Afternoon workshops expand the focus beyond science. This summer’s topics include goal setting, time management, entrepreneurship, college preparation, financial literacy, authorship, mindfulness, mental health, social media branding, artificial intelligence, chemistry, computer science, art and dual enrollment pathways. EdFed also partnered with the program for a financial literacy series that includes a simulated Financial Reality Fair.

Each day ends with physical activity, with options that include puppy yoga, ballet, line dancing, reggae and dancehall, salsa, soca, calypso, merengue, Tai Chi, Qigong, volleyball, lacrosse and self-defense.

Program alumni often return to MDC Homestead as dual enrollment students, already familiar with the campus, the labs and the expectations of college-level science courses. Some also return as mentors for younger students.

Through support from The Children’s Trust Youth Development Grant, Madison is already recruiting for the 11th and 12th annual Microbiology Girls Club programs.

For application information, contact Madison at: mmadison@mdc.edu