Area middle school students will once again have the opportunity to participate in a non-traditional summer camp at the Mason County Career Magnet School.
The camp called Try the Trades is a two-day summer camp for sixth through eighth grade students to explore job opportunities.
According to Principal Jeremy McCloud, the students will learn about careers in welding, auto mechanics, electrical, machine tool and health sciences but with traditional roles reversed.
McCloud said the female students will be given the chance to learn about mechanics and welding, while the boys will learn about health sciences.
“We live in a very traditional area,” McCloud said. “You have men going into the welding and mechanics jobs, while women are going into the health sciences field and we want the students to understand that there are jobs for everyone in all fields.”
This is the second year for the summer camp.
“We did this last year and liked the response from the students about careers at an earlier age,” he said. “Kentucky has an issue with not having many non-traditional students in traditional fields and we want to change that. Our main goal is to let students know there are other options available.”
According to McCloud, there were 18 students in the program in 2018.
“We had 18 students attending and they’ve enjoyed it,” he said in May 2018.
The camp will take place May 29-30 and will be free for students, McCloud said.
Transportation will be provided by the Mason County School District and meals will be provided by Highland Christian Church.
Applications for the camp can be obtained by calling the Mason County Career Magnet School.
