Career Camp spruces up campus
Umpqua Training and Employment teamed up with UCC to run a three week long Career Camp this summer to help more than 65 Douglas County high school students earn hands-on work experience.
The camp also offered youth the opportunity to explore a variety of educational and career options.
“Susan Buell, the vice president of UT&E, came to us with the problem of not being able to find work-viable experience opportunities for 14 and 15 year olds due to OSHA and BOLI restrictions,” said Pete Bober, director of UCC’s workforce development department.
Bober called on several UCC employees to help: Career and Technical Dean, Sue Goff; former UCC employee Barbara Heald; and Career Development and JumpStart Advising Specialist, Deborah Meyer.
“The conception of this program [was] if we can’t get [students] work experience in the community . . . maybe we should put together a college exposure experience. For two weeks, faculty can talk to them about the different jobs that they can do,” said Meyer who served as the camp’s director.
Administered by Umpqua Training and Employment, the program was funded by the Federal Economic Stimulus Bill of 2009 and the Congressional reinstatement of the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP).
According to the UCC/UT&E Summer Program Proposal Assumptions, gaining paid work experience is extremely problematic due to the extensive work limitations that the Bureau of Labor and Industry places on 14- and 15-year-olds.
The camp consisted of several “career cruises,” where students engaged with careers such as arts and theatre, business, construction and fabrication, education and human services, engineering and math, health care, public safety, science and natural resources, technology and transportation.
Faculty members worked alongside students with hands-on projects and discussion times.
Initially, “career cruises were proposed [to be offered] one time each,” said Meyer, “but because some cruises like public safety and construction/fabrication were so popular, they ran three times.”
“[Our visit to the Winston Fire Department] really brought home the dangers and peaked the students’ interest in Fire Science,” said Jesse Morrow, Public Safety and Industrial Technology Program Manager.
Campers weren’t the only ones who benefitted. The campus got a free face lift as young people practiced leadership and teamwork skills with a landscaping around the Technology Center.
“It used to be just grass, and they dug all that grass out,” said Meyer.
UT&E Youth Coordinator Gaylene Nixon added, “We were really impressed. [The students] planned this on their own; they did a great job.”
The young people also cleaned up the lookout for the river near Jackson Hall.
“Team leaders got a great experience on supervising that age group of kids,” Meyer added.
Near the end of the three-week camp, family and friends were invited to a graduation ceremony where each of the teams made a presentation.
“[Graduation] was quite an experience. One student mentioned that it was the most significant experience in her life to date! It was obvious that they had a really positive experience. We also had several proud parents and family members there,” according to Bober.
A post-camp survey indicated that 95 percent of the students could see themselves attending college, compared to the 83 percent before the camp. Additionally, 68 percent could see themselves attending UCC, an increase of 25 percent of the participants’ reaction before the summer youth camp.
“Overall it was an awesome experience and maybe it is a possibility for next year. [This] was a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved,” said Meyer. “I really, really hope this can happen again.”
Funding options are being sought for next year’s camp.
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