Students test careers | News, Sports, Jobs

Staff photos / R. Michael Semple
Student William McCormick, 17, of Mineral Ridge, takes part in the equestrian summer enrichment camp at Trumbull Career and Technical Center in Champion. Here, McCormick handles a former race horse, a male standardbred.

CHAMPION — Students in grades 7 through 9 have recorded videos and designed video games, among other things, during a four-day career exploration camp offered at the Trumbull Career and Technical Center.

Morgan Cretella, community engagement coordinator at TCTC, said the students can spend a week or a day and gain real-world experiences in several career paths.

“We allowed them to do different career paths and see different career fields. Each day there were between four and six classes to choose from. They can see if something they are interested in is the right fit for them. This gives them the opportunity to gain hands-on experience,” Cretella said.

She said in the past, the camp has had students take part in the same program for multiple days, but this year, they could pick a variety of career programs each day.

While the camp has been offered in past summers, new sessions have been added, such as “YouTube Star” in multimedia, during which participants learn how to create a YouTube channel. In visual design, students are learning about designing a logo and in web design, students design their own video game online with the ability to play the game at their home.

Guy Sewell, 14, who is entering ninth grade at LaBrae, said he likes video games and likes being able to create online. He said he also has taken the Photoshop class in which he created images and used text for an online picture.

“This has allowed me to be creative and see what is involved in making a video game,” Sewell said.

Teens also had the chance to work with animals in the equine program.

Lisa Street, equestrian studies program instructor at TCTC, said students learned about the grooming and care of a horse, leading a horse, and driving and riding a horse.

Anastiya Costello of Hubbard, who will be in 10th grade, said she has been horseback riding for the past few years and enjoys being able to bond with the animal while working with it.

“It has been a lot of fun being here and working with the horses. It is a new experience,” she said.

Hayley Koniowsky of Warren, who will be in ninth grade, said she was looking for a career program that involved animals.

“I have always loved horses and when I saw this program, it interested me. Learning to ride a horse has been interesting,” she said.

Kacey Boles of Champion, who will be in eighth grade, said she has taken the horse program class, the Adobe Photoshop class and blood drawing in nursing.

“It gives me an idea of what I might want to do when I get older,” she said.

Next week, the center will offer a manufacturing camp for area youth to sample such fields as engineering, welding and manufacturing.