Three cheers for Career Camp! In August, fourteen young people attended Career Camp, a week-long program that centers career readiness skills. During the week, they focused on resume building, cover letter writing, and mock interviews. What did the students learn? Read on to find out.
On Monday morning, students gathered at the Job Lab at Spaulding Hospital in Cambridge to begin the Career Camp journey. They spent the week rotating through various hands-on activities to hone their job skills. The highlight of the week featured practice workstations that simulated real-life work settings, including an office, hospital patient room, food service, and even a CVS store!
During the workstation scenarios, students handled challenging situations such as interacting with difficult customers to practice workplace professionalism skills. In the CVS and restaurant station, students practiced restocking, handling cash, taking orders, and managing customers’ requests. Talking to patients, answering the phone, and taking messages were practiced in the hospital and office workstations.
Students went on two field trips, one to Starbucks and one to the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, to experience authentic work environments, where they observed real-world examples of customer service, retail, and food service.
The week ended with participants performing skits demonstrating what they learned throughout the camp. At the close of camp, students expressed sadness that the experience was over and exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch.
The week was a success, providing young people with opportunities to learn and practice real world career skills and expand their community with each other!
