Oakton Hosts Career Exploration Course for High School Students

Over 50 high school students from Evanston, Glenbrook, Niles, Maine and New Trier Townships recently had the opportunity to explore vocational paths at a three-week course hosted by Oakton Community College.

Summer Career Exploration Camp, sponsored by the college and North Suburban Educational Region for Vocational Education (NSERVE), a career and technical education consortium of nine high schools in Chicago’s northern suburbs, provided hands-on experience for students in fields including engineering, healthcare and business. For more than 20 years, Oakton has been hosting such programs to enrich the lives of high school students.

“Oakton’s partnership with NSERVE and its Summer Career Exploration Camp is invaluable in that it exposes young adults to specific career paths as well as access to Oakton’s facilities and our outstanding faculty,” Marc Battista, associate vice president for workforce education/dean of business and career programs, said. “Exposure to career fields during the camp can be the catalyst for many of these students to continue their journey at Oakton with the aims of pursuing a career pathway in healthcare, business or engineering.”

Participants echoed Battista’s sentiments.

“I’m interested in engineering and I got a lot out of the course,” Charlotte Cleary, a student from New Trier High School said. “I thought it was fascinating to use robots at the college to get practical experience instead of just sitting through lectures.”

And students like William Xu from Glenbrook North High School said the course provided him with vital information: “It was nice to get experience in healthcare. Coming to Oakton was beneficial for me because it narrowed down what professions I want to get into – dentistry or cardiology.”

The course culminated on Tuesday, July 2 with a career exploration expo day that allowed students to showcase their knowledge. Student projects included business plans, healthcare presentations and demonstrations of robotics.

High school students received elective credit for participating.

“Coming to Oakton gives students realistic perspectives about the skills needed for success in the workplace and immerses them in experiential learning activities,” Martha Eldredge Stark, NSERVE executive director, said. “This is tremendously helpful for their future. We’re so appreciative Oakton is gracious enough to offer its facilities for free.”