Published: April 24, 2007 11:02 pm            

CARCAM workshop held Tuesday

About 30 teachers from high schools around north Alabama visited Wallace State Community College Tuesday for the college’s first Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Camp orientation.

The workshop, held in the Bailey Building Auditorium, was held in cooperation with the Consortium for the Alabama Regional Center for Automotive Manufacturing, which is comprised of faculty and administrators from five two-year colleges in Alabama’s Automotive Corridor. Joe Hendrix, a Wallace State electronics instructor, said the purpose of the sessions is to help recruit students into an automotive technology degree program. The workshops provide teachers with information on STEM Camps for high school students and on automotive manufacturing career opportunities, he said. In addition, participants learn how to build robots and were eligible to win a robot for their classroom.

Hendrix said Tuesday afternoon the workshop seemed to be a success.

“From the response I got, I think it went very well...” he said. “We’re using [the workshops] as a recruiting tool to interest high school students in technology and technology-related fields.”

At STEM Camp, set for June 11-15 and 18-22 at Wallace State, students who qualify to attend will have the opportunity to learn about career opportunities at nearby suppliers and manufacturers including Honda, Mercedes, Toyota, Hyundai, and International Diesel, and can tour Topre and Rehau. Applicants must be entering their sophomore, junior or senior year in the fall of 2007, must have a “C” or better in Algebra or a “C” or better in math class during the 2006-2007 school year and must be recommended by a counselor or math/science teacher, according to Hendrix.

Hendrix said the STEM Camps are paid for by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Participants who complete the camp will receive $100 and daily mileage reimbursement, according to Hendrix.

Colleges in addition to Wallace State that make up CARCAM are Central Alabama Community College, Gadsden State Community College, Jefferson State Community College, Trenholm State Technical College.

        

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