Debra McCartney Hamann joined Reach Out! as a freshman in the fall of 1996, and took on progressively greater responsibilities every year. After graduating with an engineering BS in spring 2000, she was hired as Ann Arbor Programs Coordinator by the K-12 Education Outreach program of the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science (CUOS), the sponsor for Reach Out! While an undergraduate, she first coordinated a science club at Peace Neighborhood Center, then organized science in area parks for the Peace summer program, using Reach out! volunteers and visiting students in the CUOS Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.

Debbie recruiting at 1999 FestiFall on the Diag

Peace Summer Science in the Park, organized by Deb with Reach Out! & REU volunteers

During the 1998-99 school year, Deb organized an expansion of Reach Out! science clubs into Ann Arbor subsidized housing sites. This was an effort to coordinate with the Serendipity Reading Clubs at those sites, so that the same children could be served in more than one way.
Then, she and Reach Out! colleague Aarti Raheja conceived the idea of a summer day camp for some of these children. They did all the planning, fundraising, and implementation of Camp Discovery, which was repeated in summer 2000 and is planned for 2001.
	Camp Discovery 2000 group at the Wave Field

In true learning community fashion, Deb has called on friends and relatives when help was needed. Her fiancé/husband, his friends from the UM Marching Band, her parents, her two sisters, and her brother-in-law have all volunteered repeatedly. The last three are in the photos above, teaching campers how to swing dance. Others have come through with donations to fund Reach Out! efforts. Debra's family embodies the importance of relationships in outreach.

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Last updated 30 May 01