Twenty-four kids with the Boys & Girls Club of the Chattahoochee Valley are spending part of their summer exploring possible future careers while having a lot of fun.  That’s because these young people from 8^th grade and up will be spending Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 1:30 – 4:30 at Columbus Technical College learning about several program areas.  These include: automotive technology, dental assisting & hygiene, criminal justice, mechatronics, chemistry, and computer networking and more.  The kids are also learning valuable life skills like CPR and basic first aid, keyboarding, community service, and how to dress for success.

The camp started June 5^th and wraps up on July 26^th (campers are off the week of July 4).  It is being held in various program labs and classrooms across the Columbus Technical College campus on Manchester Expressway.

The camp’s coordinator, Columbus Technical College Executive Vice President for Academics and Institutional Effectiveness Monique Baucham, hopes this experience will grow and continue for many summers to come.

“Columbus Technical College is excited to host these bright minds of tomorrow. Everyone at the College loves having these young people on our campus Tuesday and Thursday afternoons,” Baucham said. “Their natural curiosity and excitement about learning is truly contagious. We already plan to make this bigger and better in the future.”

Baucham says this is an ideal way to expose children to career and educational opportunities they may not have thought of otherwise.

“We hope these students will see all that Columbus Technical College has to offer and they take advantage of the premier, accredited learning environment that’s right in their backyard.  Many of them already qualify to enroll in the dual enrollment program offered by the State of Georgia. This is a way for them to earn free college credit and get a head start on their future while they’re still in high school.”

Each of the two dozen students has been issued his or her own special Columbus Technical College Student ID badge. They will wrap up their camp on Thursday, July 26^th at 1:30PM with a final ceremony and Dress for Success fashion show in Patrick Hall’s McCaulley Auditorium.