by Kelly Rogge
Kansas City Kansas Community College celebrated the hard work of students in the Computer Technician Basic Skills Camp with a graduation and recognition ceremony July 24.
The goal of the three-week computer camp is to give young adults the opportunity to improve their technical skills, while also getting a taste of what it is like to be in a college environment. Students attended classes five days a week, working with different instructors in the areas of computer skills and programming. Courses focused on everything from learning the basics of computer hardware and software and troubleshooting to business writing skills and how to behave in the workplace. In addition, students learned about job readiness skills such as resume building and interviewing, helping them to be prepared to enter the workforce. The program utilized the A+ computer curriculum.
The camp was sponsored by KCKCC and Johnson County Community College and was open to all youth from Wyandotte, Leavenworth and Johnson counties.
“We are preparing these youth for today, teaching them abilities that will help prepare them for a path leading to a brighter future,” said Nancy McNealey, youth program manager with Workforce Partnership in Kansas City, Kan. “We want to help them be prepared to find jobs and provide them with the opportunity to learn about these technical skills.”
During the camp, students helped to prepare computers for three nonprofit agencies – Catholic Charities, the United Way of Wyandotte County and Connecting for Good. These agencies were chosen through a Request for Proposal process in which the students helped to facilitate. In addition, students had the opportunity to attend a two-day Digital Storytelling Class. During the class, students made short videos using a variety of animation techniques including Stop Motion and Claymation, among others.
“One of the big parts of this camp is philanthropy– giving back to the community,” said Jennifer Winchester, program director at JCCC. “If you don’t learn how to give back, you will not get anything.”
Brian Bode, vice president of student and administration services at KCKCC, said students in the Computer Technician Basic Skills Camp have a “sense of accomplishment” for completing the camp.
“I hope they learned something about team learning, using the strengths of other people to accomplish a goal. I hope they understand now, what it means to be a part of a team,” he said. “I hope they enjoyed being in a college setting and learning some serious skills that they can use down the road. When they want to use them, these skills will come to their aid.”
For more information about the Computer Technician Basic Skills Camp, contact Marisa Gray, business development liaison for Workforce Development at KCKCC at [email protected] or by calling 913-288-7284.
Kelly Rogge is the public information supervisor at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
