Career Development Camp
Article by Sue Carpenter | KPC News | July 6, 2021
GARRETT — It didn’t take long to fill two dozen openings for a Career Development Camp for youth this summer.
“This is for exploration to get kids who are interested to consider the Career Development Program in high school,” said director Chad Sutton, likening it to a feeder program for youth football or softball.
Middle school students in grades six and seven constructed eight, six-foot picnic tables with the City of Garrett logo during half-day sessions on held Monday through Thursday mornings. The picnic tables will be placed in city parks later this summer.
The older group made use of all the materials left in stock to build an 8-by-4 foot hunting blind. Anyone interested in purchasing the completed blind can contact Sutton at the school.
Eighth-graders also worked on their welding skills by cutting steel with plasma cutters and welding the plates together for bike racks with the City of Garrett logo. Each rack will hold two bikes and be bolted the sidewalks. Once completed, the nine racks were sent to Columbia City to be powder coated.
Eighth-grader Sarah DePew’s interest in carpentry drew her to sign up for the camp.
“I have been interested in construction ever since I helped my dad build a shed,” she said. “I knew Mr. (Chad) Sutton before the camp started and he told me about the camp. I liked the thought of getting to make something with my own hands and since I don’t have any of the saws and materials to build things of my own a home, this gave me that chance.”
She enjoyed building picnic tables that will go up around Garrett.
DePew said welding was the most difficult part because there are so many factors that go into making a perfect weld, such as angle, pressure and speed.
The past two years, she took construction classes at the middle school.
“We got to build things and design them as well,” DePew said. “The class is defiantly and great way to set me up for the Career Development Program in the future.
“I hope to be in the program in high school. They have four different classes that we can take in the program. I hope to do at least two of them,” she said.
Incoming freshman Riley Clingan was also interested in carpentry when he signed up for the camp.
He, too, found the welding portion to be tedious.
“Getting my welds to look nice” was the hardest part, he said.
Clingan was a member of Jason Wiley’s construction systems class last year and will be joining the Career Development Program in the fall.
With the popularity of the class this year, Sutton said a second session is being considered next year.
Sutton said the two-week summer program was funded through a philanthropic grant from the Dekko Foundation and donations from Big C Lumber and New Millennium Building Systems.
Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/garrettclipper/article_dd425513-6bbe-5364-81bb-4da448ec6244.html