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April 9, 2007

Students Learn about the Power of Technical Careers at Calhoun Community College through Summer Camps

Decatur, AL – Great careers are available in career and technical fields, and throughout the nation efforts are underway to create greater workforce diversity within these fields. Calhoun Community College is working with local business and industry to interest more young women in area high schools in nontraditional, technical careers and is offering two unique summer opportunities to help spark that interest.

During the week of June 18-22, Calhoun will team with the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce to present the first Summer Welding and Electrical Technology (SWeETy) Camp for ninth and tenth grade girls.   This free summer camp experience will be available to the top twenty applicants from city and county high schools in Limestone, Madison and Morgan counties. 

Area high school counselors have been asked to select students to participate in this summer camp where the students will learn about the opportunities available to women in the technology-based workforce of the future.  The SWeETy camp will offer girls a unique opportunity to learn, hands-on, about technical skills that can lead to high-paying, satisfying careers in high growth industries.

The camp will provide hands-on experiences in welding and electricity and  will help students develop problem-solving skills and teamwork as they participate in instructor-led projects, field trips and interact with women role models during industry sponsored lunches. Students will be challenged to break down stereotypes that may deter girls from pursuing technical professions by introducing them to women who currently work in nontraditional fields and by offering them a number of convincing reasons why girls should consider technical careers.

During the week of June 25-29, young, high school-aged women will once again gather at Calhoun to learn about career opportunities available to them in the process industries. Process industries take raw materials and transform them into finished products through the use of a chemical and/or a physical process. 

The Science and Technology Preview (STeP) summer camp is an opportunity for young women to learn about a high tech career in a non-traditional field. The STeP summer camp is free to the first 25 students who apply, and pre-registration is required.

“High tech jobs are both high paying and have the best opportunity for growth in the next decade. However, many young women do not realize that these career paths are open to them because of negative stereotypes and a lack of good role models. The STeP summer camp will introduce and help them “step up” to a career in the process industry field,” said Gwen Baker, coordinator of the camps.

Calhoun’s first STeP summer camp was held last year, and is sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Process Technology (CAPT), a national center funded, in part, through a National Science Foundation grant. The purpose of the camp is to encourage young women to see the value of a career in process or chemical technology, and to urge them to prepare now for a rewarding future.

The Calhoun Community College Process Technology Program is hosting the STeP summer camp because a large number of industries that hire Process Technology graduates are located nearby. BP, Solutia, Nova Chemicals and other local process industries are co-hosting the event.

Both the SWeETy and STeP summer camps will include presentations from women working technical careers, hands-on experimentation and field trips to related industries.  Hours for both camps will be from 9:00 until 3:00 each day and both will be held at the Aerospace Training Center on Calhoun’s Decatur campus.  Application deadline for both camps is April 27.  For more information about the STeP or SWeETy summer camps, contact Carol Scott  at cas@calhoun.edu / 256-260-1439 or Gwen Baker at gzb@calhoun.edu /256-306-2665.

Coverage of this release:

• 1st SWeETy Camp held at Calhoun, Directions, a publication of the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce, July 2007, p. 10
• STEP Camp Coverage, WAFF, Channel 48, Huntsville, AL, July 9, 2007, 6:00 p.m. coverage
• STEP Camp Coverage, WAAY TV Channel 31, Huntsville, AL, June 28, 2007, 6:00 p.m. coverage
• 9 girls learn electrical work, welding at weeklong camp, The Decatur Daily, Sunday, June 24, 2007 issue, p. E8
• Calhoun, chamber offering technology camps for girls, The Decatur Daily, Sunday, April 15, 2007 issue, p. E8

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Janet Kincherlow-Martin
Director of Public Relations
(256) 306-2561

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