As summer approaches, all students can think about are shedding their winter coats and replacing them with bathing suits. School will soon be out and classes forgotten, so why are some thinking about hitting the books during the warm summer months?
Penn Manor High School offers several chances for students to explore career opportunities all summer – June through August.
Colleges from Penn State and Harrisburg University to Lancaster County Career & Technology Center, offer several programs to get students more interested in their future jobs.
All of the programs join in to create what is called a summer of STEM. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
Matthew Glick, a senior at Penn Manor, attended a Lego Robotics camp and found it beneficial.
“I don’t know about [leading me to] a future career, but it was helpful when it came to learning about engineering,” said Glick.
However, Corey Delmonto, another Penn Manor senior, disagrees.
“I went just for fun, but I didn’t find it helpful,” said Delmonto. “I definitely didn’t put it on my college applications.”
Careers in robotics, biology and health programs are offered through almost twenty individual programs.
Most of the activities vary from day camps to three week-long programs. Each camp has a certain fee and the prices rise the longer the camps go.
“Yeah it was expensive,” said Glick. “It was $200 for two weeks.”
While Penn Manor does not offer scholarships, some of the summer programs provide financial aid themselves.
“I can point you in the right direction and put you in contact with the right people,” said Brandy Basile, a counselor at the high school.
If you’re looking to go abroad and study in another place for the summer, the People to People Program offers time away in other countries to immerse yourself in the culture of other places. Places such as Europe and Asia offer sports, education and leadership programs where the students take general education classes or participate internationally on sports teams.
Students will also go sightseeing to places like the world-famous Louvre Museum and The Great Wall of China.
“We can put you in touch with other students who have taken this opportunity and they can tell you more about it,” said Basile.
Interested? Stop in the counseling office for more information.
By Emily Brody