COD’s Youth Academy Sets Summer Enrollment Record

College of DuPage's Youth Academy marked its largest summer program enrollment, with more than 4,500 enrollments throughout the season.

"It's great affirmation from the community we serve that our team is creating the right programs, at the right cost, delivered in a way that they find accessible," said Vice President of Workforce Innovation and Community Education Joe Cassidy. "I'm extremely grateful that the community trusts us to be a part of their lifelong learning journey, and I'm very proud of the team's commitment to serving our students."

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Part of COD's Continuing Education program, Youth Academy provides a variety of opportunities for students in grades K-12 to explore their interests, develop new skills and prepare for future academic and career success. Youth Academy offers a range of courses, camps and programs at COD's Glen Ellyn campus, as well as the Naperville and Westmont centers. This summer, Youth Academy offered more than 380 camps and courses. Subject areas included culinary arts, manufacturing, graphic design, welding and business.

Among Youth Academy's summer offerings was the Chem-Colors Manufacturing camp, offered in partnership with COD's Manufacturing Technology and Business and Applied Technology programs. The new grant-funded camp provided middle school students with an immersive, weeklong introduction to modern manufacturing, production finishing and coating.

Through the camp, students participated in several hands-on learning experiences, including liquidpainting model Jeeps at the Technology Center of DuPage and testing their skills in COD's VR Lab using SprayVerse simulation software. Students also learned from industry professionals at Avient and BASF Chemetall and toured the Elgin Sweeper manufacturing facility, where they observed professionals at workand gained insight into careers in the industry.

"Increasingly, parents and employers want to see a return on investment in education while also seeing the next generation develop into critical thinkers, socially responsible citizens and leaders. Youth Academy delivers both by helping young students develop as people while exploring career pathways," Cassidy said.

Learn more about COD's Youth Academy.