From July 17th through 21st the Darke County Economic Development is holding the Darke County Summer Manufacturing Camp at Greenville HS Advanced Manufacturing Lab.
This is the fourth year, the Darke County Economic Development is holding this camp for junior high students (entering 7th and 8th grades). It started with 8 campers in 2019 and has grown to 22 students this year, including 2 campers going into 9th grade who are helping to design a next level camp for 9th and 10th graders. Tamala Marley, Workforce Specialist at Darke County Economic Development, shared that some students are participating for the second year and some are bringing their siblings at the second year after the positive experience they made in their first year.
During the Camp, students have the opportunity to practice and grow their skills in communication, problem solving and teamwork.
The camp shows junior high students the options they have at local manufacturers. The Camp agenda starts at 8:30 AM, at 9:00 AM the campers participate in Team Activites (Theme of the Day) and at 11:30 they travel to the manufacturer of that day, have lunch there and take a tour. At 2:00PM the campers return to school and at 2:30PM they have a 30 Minutes Recap and Reflection of the Day.
There are also Camp counselors from Greenville CTEC and Ansonia HS available at the camp.
Every day has a new Topic/Theme and each student is adding pieces to an own personal “puzzle” with the goal to find out at the end of the camp what their personal future path could be.
Representatives of the Manufacturing Partners show opportunities their companies offer and answer questions the students have. They also share how they started out and worked their way up, some times from entry level jobs, so the students can see what options they have by working in a local manufacturing career.
This year’s Manufacturing Partners are (with their Theme of the Day): Whirlpool (Safety Starts with You – Safety), Fort Recovery Industries (Because You Deserve The Best – Quality), Midmark (Your Steps To The Goal – Process) and JAFE Decorating (How big Can You Dream – Design & Innovation). The last day of the Camp week has the theme “Exploring Your Path” with Edison State Community College will provide activities and share information on career pathways available locally. The Upper Valley Career Center (Adult Division) will bring a welder for students to try.
On Wednesday, the Midmark-Representatives Tyler Stump (Midmark Production System Team) and Brooke Ruhenkamp (HR Generalist) presented Midmark to the students and answered the questions of the campers (from personal preferences, to community involvement of Midmark to production quantities, service of the products, etc.) in a Q&A session before the group headed to the Midmark facility in Versailles for the tour.
The program is funded by donations through the Darke County Foundation, the West Tech Prep Region and Edison State Community College.
The DCED thanks Greenville City Schools and Superintendent Doug Fries for the use of the Advanced Manufacturing Lab and for providing transportation to tours, Heather Suerdieck of Inside Out Coaching – Camp Facilitator, Susan Ahrens – Camp Assistant, Mary Lee Moore – Career Tech Secretary, Edison State Community College, Mrs. Lori Hoover and the Interactive Media students at Greenville C-TEC
