Students explore future possibilities at Career Camp

Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, June 3, 2026

QUINCY — Connor Sousa sometimes imagines himself as a diesel mechanic in the future.

Cassidy Bradfield may not want to work on semis, but she has something else in mind.

“I want to drive them,” she said.

Both received a taste of the possibilities thanks to Career Camp held at the Quincy Area Vocational Technical Center.

Morning and afternoon sessions this week and next — intended for students entering sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in the coming school year — offered four days of hands-on career exploration.

“It’s just an opportunity for them to explore some of the programs that we offer here and get a little bit of a taste of different careers they could look into and do when they get older, but in a fun, hands-on way,” said Gena Finley, the center’s program coordinator.

Students explored culinary arts, robotics, diesel technology, and emergency medical technician training with activities ranging from baking cookies to coding and creating a take-home first aid kit.

Diesel instructor Brian Armstrong introduced students to tools used by mechanics and basic skills, including how to check tire pressure.

“That’s something they can go home and apply to their bicycle, mom and dad’s car, something they can retain the rest of their lives and make them a little more independent,” Armstrong said.

Each tire lists its maximum pressure on the sidewall, and “we want to stay within 75% of whatever the max pressure is,” Armstrong told the students.

Campers checked the pressure in the tires of a car, a semi, and a skid steer, then used an air hose to inflate the low tires.

Using the tire gauge was a first for Connor, an incoming sixth-grader at Quincy Junior High School. “It’s very challenging at first, but once you finally get over that hurdle, you do better and better,” he said.

Cassidy uses a battery-powered tire gauge to check the pressure in her bicycle tires but liked learning how to do it by hand.

Students also checked fluids, used torque and air impact wrenches to remove and replace lug nuts, and got to sit in the semi’s cab.

“It’s just exposure to the world of mechanics, the equipment. Hopefully a little bit of exploration into things they’ve never been exposed to,” Armstrong said.

St. Dominic Catholic School students Lizzy and Eva Smith said the camp sessions are fun.

“The cooking one was probably my favorite. We got to make cookies in a jar,” Lizzy said.

Learning to program robots to move through a maze was fun, and so was learning how to check tire pressure, something their dad does at home.

“Now we know how to do it,” Eva said.

Camp sessions can introduce or build on existing interest in a career field, and “when they get here as freshmen, they can start taking some introductory courses,” Finley said. “This gives a preview of some things they may be able to do when they come to the high school.”