Local students attend UWA’s career exploration camp
Published 10:31 am Thursday, July 27, 2017
- The University of West Alabama recently held the Career Exploration Summer Camp. Participating from Marengo County, pictured bottom left, was Shamaire Collins. Pictured counter-clockwise from bottom right is DEDO Program Coordinator Sanquenetta Thompson, DEDO Executive Director Dr. Tina Naremore Jones and Monica Moore DEDO Secretary.
The University of West Alabama’s Division of Economic Development and Outreach (DEDO) hosted the 2017 Career Exploration Summer Camp (CESC) for students who will be sophomores and juniors during the 2017-2018 school year. The camp was held on June 11-16.
Marengo County’s Shamaire Collins, a student at Amelia L. Johnson High School, attended the camp.
The CESC is a residential program where students stayed on the UWA campus. The CESC Program offered students the ability to explore career options and prepare for college through interactive and engaging hands-on activities, field trips and presentations. Sponsored by The University of West Alabama and The Daniel Foundation, the camp is open to students attending public and private secondary schools across the State.
“The CESC is an extremely intense and structured learning opportunity for youth in the secondary school systems of Alabama,” said DEDO Executive Director Dr. Tina Jones.
The curriculum offers students a thorough look into current and emerging career fields, highlights of the knowledge and skills needed for each career, essential information on projected employment—where the jobs are and will continue to grow, and steps that students can take now, while in high school, to prepare for the future. In addition, students participated in standardized applicant test preparation courses, business etiquette training, team-building activities, academic enhancement activities, career-focused field trips, resume writing, interviewing practice and financial literacy training.
The CESC Program is scholarship based for all students and included all program costs/room fees, equipment/supplies, workshops/handouts, field trips, room and board, lab fee, facility usage and speakers.
The CESC is a competitive selection process program limited to 12 male and 12 female students for each camp (for a total of 48) in Choctaw, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Pickens and Sumter counties. Camps for next year will be held on June 17-22 and June 24-29, 2018. An information and application packet will be available Spring 2018 at www.centerforblackbelt.org.
For more information on the CESC, contact Program Director Sanquenetta Thompson at 205-652-3408/sthompson@uwa.edu or DEDO Secretary Monica Moore at 205-652-3828/mmoore@uwa.edu.
(This article originally published in the Wednesday, July 12, print edition of the Demopolis Times.)