AUBURN - Luke Wilson's favorite activity at the Board of Cooperative Educational Services' annual Career Connections summer camp was building a sprinkler while participating in House Anatomy.
The 12-year-old from Auburn turned on the sprinkler when nobody was looking, spouting water all over unsuspecting campers, he said.
“I wanted to do House Anatomy, because I like to build stuff,” Wilson said. “I like electronics and putting stuff together.”
Wilson was one of 112 middle-school children from all across the county who registered for BOCES' annual career summer camp, a four-day program that endeavors to teach rising seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders about various careers in a hands-on learning environment. Camps offered are in babysitting training, computer graphics, cosmetology, culinary creations, house anatomy, heavy equipment operation, flower design, automotive technology and video and animation.
“They are operating bulldozers. They are arranging flowers,” said Ngaire Lovenduski, internship coordinator for BOCES. “They are using math and technology skills they've been yawning at all year long. They are using fractions. That is what makes this fun.”
The camp began in 1998 in response to discussions held by the BOCES Shared Decision Making Team about what was offered for youths during the summer months. The team decided that BOCES was an ideal location to engage students in career exploration.
In 2000, BOCES began collaborating with Partnership for Results, a not-for-profit dedicated to forming community-wide collaborations that foster healthy development of children from infancy through secondary education.
“(The camp) gives children an idea of what it is like to pursue a vocation,” said lawyer Philip Uninsky, executive director of the not-for-profit. “It gives them a sense of mission and purpose that they might not otherwise have.”
Caitlin Allio, 12, of Auburn, had her parents sign her up for the computer graphics camp.
“I didn't expect it to be this exciting,” she said. “I got to make a picture move and pull pictures off the Internet and put them in special programs where you do graphics.”
“It's just exciting to say, 'I did that,'” she added.
One of Valorie Fox's passions is to act, and so the 12-year-old from Auburn registered for the camp's videography camp.
“I thought it would be fun to meet new people and act,” she said.
What makes the BOCES camp unique, she said, was how different it was to the traditional camp experience.
“Usually camps are more outdoorsy and you play sports there,” Fox said. “But this is a camp where you interact with computers. The summer is not just for swimming and sports.”
This year will be the final year the camp will be located at the Auburn BOCES campus, as the new facility in Aurelius is near completion. While the larger, state-of-the-art facility will aid Lovenduski in expanding the camp, her motivation is due to the camp's participants.
“It isn't just about the building,” she said. “It's about the people. When you fill that building with kids and faculty, magic happens.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239
“I wanted to do House Anatomy, because I like to build stuff,” Wilson said. “I like electronics and putting stuff together.”
Wilson was one of 112 middle-school children from all across the county who registered for BOCES' annual career summer camp, a four-day program that endeavors to teach rising seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders about various careers in a hands-on learning environment. Camps offered are in babysitting training, computer graphics, cosmetology, culinary creations, house anatomy, heavy equipment operation, flower design, automotive technology and video and animation.
“They are operating bulldozers. They are arranging flowers,” said Ngaire Lovenduski, internship coordinator for BOCES. “They are using math and technology skills they've been yawning at all year long. They are using fractions. That is what makes this fun.”
The camp began in 1998 in response to discussions held by the BOCES Shared Decision Making Team about what was offered for youths during the summer months. The team decided that BOCES was an ideal location to engage students in career exploration.
In 2000, BOCES began collaborating with Partnership for Results, a not-for-profit dedicated to forming community-wide collaborations that foster healthy development of children from infancy through secondary education.
“(The camp) gives children an idea of what it is like to pursue a vocation,” said lawyer Philip Uninsky, executive director of the not-for-profit. “It gives them a sense of mission and purpose that they might not otherwise have.”
Caitlin Allio, 12, of Auburn, had her parents sign her up for the computer graphics camp.
“I didn't expect it to be this exciting,” she said. “I got to make a picture move and pull pictures off the Internet and put them in special programs where you do graphics.”
“It's just exciting to say, 'I did that,'” she added.
One of Valorie Fox's passions is to act, and so the 12-year-old from Auburn registered for the camp's videography camp.
“I thought it would be fun to meet new people and act,” she said.
What makes the BOCES camp unique, she said, was how different it was to the traditional camp experience.
“Usually camps are more outdoorsy and you play sports there,” Fox said. “But this is a camp where you interact with computers. The summer is not just for swimming and sports.”
This year will be the final year the camp will be located at the Auburn BOCES campus, as the new facility in Aurelius is near completion. While the larger, state-of-the-art facility will aid Lovenduski in expanding the camp, her motivation is due to the camp's participants.
“It isn't just about the building,” she said. “It's about the people. When you fill that building with kids and faculty, magic happens.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at alyssa.sunkin@lee.net or 253-5311 ext. 239
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.