June Work-Readiness Camp

Hunter Warsinsky, Placement Coordinator

This past month, fourteen sophomore students from both Fort Frye High School and Warren High School gathered in-person at the Epicenter for a four day work-readiness camp that both explored and strengthened the soft skills students need to succeed in the workforce.

The Work Readiness Summer Camp, which was offered in partnership with the Washington County Department of Job and Family Services, not only provided campers with a space to grow their skills such as time management & team building, it also gave them an opportunity to learned about things such as financial literacy and community engagement.

Skills were often introduced using fun activities and hand-on opportunities. For example, one team building exercise student had fun with was a competition to build the tallest tower out of marshmallows and spaghetti. Campers first built the structures on their own and then were put into teams to show that when you work together, a taller tower can be built.

Campers were also visited by guest speakers from other nonprofit and community-based organizations. Heather Warner, Founder and Director of Go Packs, spoke to the students about food insecurity in Washington County and how we can all give back to our community. The campers were then able to help GoPacks by tie-dying drawstring bags for them to sell at the Farmers Market. This fundraiser helps GoPacks cover the cost of nutritious food, which they provide to kids in the Marietta City School District during the school year.

Kerry Jean Waddle, Executive Director of The Betsy Mills Club talked to the students about dressing for success. Waddle discussed the difference between business casual and business professional dress. She even talked about how the color of your interview attire may send different messages to your interviewers.

Students had good things to say about the camp after it was done. Gabriel Jett, a sophomore from Fort Frye said “This camp really helped me on the interview process and resume. It will definitely help me in the future. I didn’t want the camp to end.”

This was the first work readiness camp offered by BB2C, but it won't be the last! Not only did the campers enjoy what they were learning; the camp helped better prepare students for success along their career paths. We look forward to working with other schools, organizations, and students to expand this programming in the future. If you would like to know more about partnering with BB2C on work-readiness programming for the community, contact hwarsinsky@BB2Careers.org.