News
July 10, 2019Students Explore Careers – and STEM – at Inaugural Capital Region BOCEES Summer Camp
Anya Afridi doesn’t want to spend her summer engaging in social media. Anthony DiMascio is entering Capital Region BOCES Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) in the fall and wants to keep his STEM knowledge fresh and get a feel fora BOCES programs.
Both students and 12 others are spending this week in the first-ever Capital Region BOCES Summer Camp exploring five different careers and how they are intertwined with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
The five-day camp started Monday with students exploring Internet Applications. On Tuesday, the learning moves into the kitchen with students learning the culinary arts; Wednesday brings students into the carpentry program while on Thursday students zoom into learning about automotive technology and on Friday they nurse themselves through the final day of learning by exploring careers in nursing and healthcare.
The objective of the camp is to let students in their formative years know that interesting careers not only exist, but offer great options for their future.
For the students, the camp was a draw for many diverse reasons.
“I didn’t want to spend my summer just sitting home on my phone and social media. I want to learn some new things and have fun,” said Afridi, a seventh grade student from Niskayuna, as she took a break from a graphic design program on Monday.
“I am here because I am interested in automotive. My dad is a mechanic and I thought it would be fun to come here and learn how to change tires and do stuff like that,” added Anthony DiMatteo, a Schalmont Central School District student.
“There are some things here this week that I am really interested in like computers and carpentry,” said fellow Schalmont student Brayden Carroll.
Afridi said she is looking forward to the nursing program.
“I am really interested in the nursing because I want to be a pediatrician when I grow up. I want to learn all types of nursing stuff,” she said.
Nancy Liddle, business liaison at Capital Region BOCES, said Afridi, DiMatteo and Carroll are on the right track when it comes to the camp.
“This is a great opportunity for these students to undertake career exploration and to see what really exists out there and how they can pursue those paths,” she said.
