Summer break is here; Explore a hands-on career! The Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC) is holding free, hands-on camps to give middle and high school aged students an opportunity to explore careers in healthcare, information technology, and computer-aided design.
The Health Careers Exploration Camp, hosted by the Southside Area Health Education Center, introduces students to a wide range of health careers through hands-on activities, games, and engaging guest speakers. Some of the hands-on activities included stopping the bleed on a simulated arm and participating in a simulated escape room. During the escape room students identified hand hygiene opportunities within patient care areas, recognized safety issues, and worked as a team to solve the health-related puzzles to escape the room. The first camp session was held June 10-12th. The camp is being repeated July 24-26th and registration is on-going.
The IT Career Exploration Camp was held June 24-27th to help students explore the exciting world of information technology and cybersecurity. Some camp activities included taking apart a computer and putting it back together, making ethernet cables, learning about cybersecurity issues, and participating in an escape room challenge. Students also visited the SoVA Innovation Hub where they learned about Mid-Atlantic Broadband and its work and explored the Microsoft Experience Center with virtual reality HoloLens headsets.
A Computer-Aided Design (CAD) camp will be held July 15-18 from 1:00-4:00pm. The camp is hosted by SVHEC-Career Tech Academy robotics instructor Adam Reeves with support from members of the Cometbots Robotics Team. During the camp students will get a hands-on experience learning the basics of 3D design and learn how to use it to bring an idea to life. Computer Aided Design is used by a variety of industries from engineering and architecture to product design and advanced manufacturing. This camp is ideal for students who enjoy combining creativity with technology. Registration is on-going.
All SVHEC summer camps are free and registration links for the July CAD camp and AHEC Health Careers Camp are available at www.svhec.org/camps.