On a bright morning in June, 16-year-old Ilia C. stood at a microphone in front of more than 200 people and talked about his summer.
“All thanks to this program, I’m now able to pursue my dreams,” he said, telling the crowd that he’s always wanted to be an auto mechanic. “I never really thought I could have this chance to be something from my childhood dreams.”
Ilia was one of 72 young people who graduated from Avenue Scholars’ summer Boot Camp program, held throughout the month of June. For four weeks, these Scholars explored potential careers at a series of day camps that featured hands-on learning, connections with local employers, and the opportunity to earn real-world professional certifications.
Now in its sixth year, this summer’s Boot Camp program consisted of four separate day camps focusing on three high-demand career fields: healthcare, the skilled trades, and transportation/automotive (divided into two groups based on high Scholar interest).
“Boot Camps give our Scholars the chance to build skills, earn industry-recognized credentials, connect with professionals, and experience careers firsthand,” said Avenue Scholars CEO Lindsay Decker. “There’s something incredibly powerful about stepping into a lab, a shop, or a workplace and realizing, ‘I can do this.’”
Learning by Doing
Avenue Scholars partnered with two Omaha postsecondary institutions to host the camps: The Skilled Trades and Transportation camps were hosted by Metropolitan Community College (MCC), and the Healthcare Camp was hosted by Clarkson College.
Scholars applied for and were selected for the camps based on their interest in their career field of choice and their ability to commit to the program. Scholars attended camp four days a week, Monday through Thursday, through an earn-while-you-learn model that compensated them for their participation at the end of camp.
Each camp emphasized experiential learning. At Skilled Trades camp, Scholars learned basic carpentry and tool safety by creating their own wooden toolboxes. At Healthcare Camp, they learned how to take blood pressure, interact with patients in simulated scenarios, and earned CPR/BLS certification from the American Heart Association. At Transportation Camp, Scholars learned how to repair dents in car hoods and disassembled and reassembled a weed eater engine.
“This camp has given us so many opportunities to learn and explore the career path we want to take, and I’m so grateful for that,” said Josselyn W., a Scholar from Papillion La Vista High School who attended the Skilled Trades Camp. “I also watched everyone around me, worked so hard, and developed so many new skills.”
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Scholars also had the opportunity to visit and learn from working professionals at employers across Omaha. At the Healthcare Camp, Scholars shadowed healthcare workers at Nebraska Medicine. At the Transportation and Skilled Trades camps, Scholars took several field trips, visiting workplaces that included H+H Kia of Omaha, The Waldinger Corporation, Steamfitters & Plumbers Local Union 464, Mad Hatter Auto Repair, and many others.
This year’s camp also received generous financial support from several funders: Google Data Centers, the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), Valmont Industries, and the CL Werner Foundation.
The importance of community partners in making Boot Camp possible was on full display during the graduation ceremony, held June 25 on the MCC campus. Here, the graduates heard words of encouragement from several partners who helped organize camp, including Barbara Godden, executive director for community and workforce operations at MCC, and Andreia Nebel, president and CEO of Clarkson College.
“These programs represent more than hands-on training. They represent opportunity, direction, and a powerful launching point into high-skill, high-wage careers,” Godden said. “You didn’t just learn. You created. You solved problems. And you began shaping your future.”
A Glimpse of the Journey Ahead
Many of the Scholars who graduated from Boot Camp will begin the Avenue Scholars High School Program this fall, as they start their junior year. Here, they will receive personalized classroom instruction, career direction, and one-on-one support from an Avenue Scholars Career Coach who helps them prepare for success beyond high school. After graduation, they will continue to receive support from Avenue Scholars, which will work with them until they obtain an entry-level position in a stable, self-sustaining career.
For many, like Scholar Jasmine C. from Omaha South High School, Boot Camp offered a glimpse of what’s ahead – and left them eager to continue the journey.
“This experience has made me even more excited about having (Avenue) Scholars in my schedule this fall and to continue learning about my path towards becoming an automotive technician,” she said.
