This paper describes how a geosciences summer program for 50 Hispanic and Black eighth graders with high potential from at-risk backgrounds, planned and executed activities designed to empower these youth by teaching them strategies to develop effective "voice," while concurrently nurturing abilities and inspiring significant career aspirations. To have "voice" is defined as being able to express and test ideas, beliefs, and attitudes with a responsive audience with assurance that others are listening and perceiving the person as credible, with potential to affect decisions and outcomes favorable to the ideas, beliefs, and attitudes expressed. Specific program strategies designed to achieve these goals included: (1) a period of each day assigned to a brief journal writing session, in which the youth were expected to respond to the prompt of the day that related to science or math growth, specific experiences in the environmental science curriculum, and personal growth, feelings and attitudes; (2) peer interaction among the youth, who were from six different school/urban sites, promoted through team-based geoscience field experiences and problem solving, and through leisure activities; and (3) relaxation and leisure group activities, as well as evening discussion sections, guided by camp staff and the director. The personal attention of caring teachers was, perhaps, the lynch pin that made all of the strategies planned so successful that without exceptions campers left expressing in various ways that this summer month was one of the most important experiences of their lives to date. (Contains 24 references.) (CR)