Students explore careers at summer camp [08/09/2008]

Imagine a summer camp that lets youngsters don surgical scrubs and step into an operating room.That was just one of the real-life experiences offered through the Mount Washington Valley School to Career Partnership. Four career camps were presented for local middle school students in the fields of natural sciences, health, construction and technology."It was as much fun for the kids as it was for me," David Rudewick, executive director for School to Career, said. "I think the kids had a wonderful time. What impressed me was they appreciated the time people took, plus they got a chance to try so many things that they might otherwise not. We had great participation from the local business community. This may be the spark that sends a student onto a career path. Students get a taste, and if they want more we can explore job shadowing or maybe even an internship. All the students have to do is let me know."All of the camps are designed to introduce local youth to the wide variety of career opportunities available to them as they get older. Campers participated in hands-on activities and projects related to their fields of interest and will visit local businesses to see what local professionals are actually doing day-to-day.These were school-approved, week-long day camps. Each camp had two counselors and at least 10 local agency and business partners who collaborate on the activities. The camps were $70 per week. Earth Force Camp ran June 23-27. Campers hiked on Mount Washington, toured the observatory, stocked a pond with brook trout, learned GPS, monitored a lake in a canoe, participated in environmental/weather activities in the forest and visited a wood mill. Health CSI Camp ran July 7-11. Campers became CPR-certified, learned how to take blood pressures, tympanograms, littered a patient, drew blood and sutured. They toured The Memorial Hospital in North Conway and even suited up in the emergency room, visited SOLO and other health agencies, saw acupuncture, and experienced the life of a health professional with their stethoscopes. Technology Camp ran July 14-18. Campers created a Web page with graphics, produced pod casts and videos, learned about programming and game development, visited local technology-based businesses, and took apart and helped build a computer. Construction Camp ran July 21-25. Campers received a tool belt with tools and built a dog house, participated in plumbing and wiring activities, visited residential and commercial construction sites, and helped with a Habitat for Humanity house.Rudewick attended all four camps and said one student went to three while there were several who attended two. "You can see when the kids first meet, they're kind of uncomfortable in their own skin," Rudewick said. "By the end they're just so energetic and don't want the week to end. We had a really nice group of kids for all of the camps."Rudewick would like to expand on the camps by carrying over some into the school year. "I want to see if we can't integrate more through the school year like a year-long CSI camp," he said. "That way, we'd be able to expose more students to the program."Interested students next spring should see counselors at Kennett Middle School, Bartlett Middle School, K.A. Brett School or download the camp descriptions and applications from the MWV School to Career Partnership Web site, www.mwvschooltocareer.com, or call David Rudewick at 447-2350.