Gateway College summer camps teach students that 'making stuff is cool'

Gateway Community and Technical College is in the midst of hosting three manufacturing camps this summer for middle school students and high school girls. Students at the camps are exposed to the advanced manufacturing industry, including the topics of robotics and energy, and are given hands-on activities to learn from.
 
“The camps are part of our ongoing efforts to increase the number of people pursuing careers in advanced manufacturing,” says Carissa Schutzman, Gateway dean of Workforce Solutions. “The camps demonstrate to students that making stuff is cool and that the words ‘American made’ convey not only a sense of pride, but an opportunity for a rewarding career in a clean, mentally challenging environment.”

The two middle school “Career Craze” camps are funded by Lieutenant Gov. Jerry Abramson’s office and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. The manufacturing day camp takes places at Gateway’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing on the Boone Campus. The middle school camps attract students from the Erlanger Indepenent School System as well as Boon and Kenton county schools.

The camp for high school girls is funded by Procter & Gamble through the Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative. It is scheduled for July 28-31 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Boone Campus.
 
“We and our partners are very invested in the ‘workforce of tomorrow,’ and we recognize the need to broaden our students' horizons in terms of career path options,” Schutzman says. “With the camp for high school girls, we know that women specifically are a minority in this pathway. and this is just one way we can address that.”
 
One of the activities at the camps includes constructing a robotic arm. Schutzman has noticed that this activity consistently engages students in ways that are new and exciting for them.
 
“I think that when kids come in and work with their hands on something like that, they see not only how fun and exciting it is, but also how challenging and interesting it gets,” Schutzman says. “That’s very indicative of the industry in real life.”