Washburn Tech offers kids opportunities to discover their passions

TOPEKA (KSNT) – This past week, Washburn Tech was offering 7th and 8th graders the opportunity to explore their passions and discover what they want to do once they leave school.

This opportunity came through their summer camp, which started on June 5. Young people were presented with a list of disciplines that Washburn Tech has to offer, then they chose their top five. The first two-and-a-half days of the camp the students were then allowed to go out and explore those disciplines they expressed interest in.

However, the last day-and-a-half of the camp is dedicated to exploring disciplines that might be outside of the students’ comfort zones.

“We just want to expose them to different trades that we have at Washburn Tech,” Washburn University Custom Training Specialist Bill Cochran said.

This week, they are focusing on a different age group; Freshmen and Sophomores in high school.

“It’s really a great time,” Cochran said. “We get kids in from all across the area to come in and explore Washburn Tech and see what it’s about.”

He said it’s beneficial to the students because they get to explore new avenues for potential job opportunities they might have never thought of before.

“Some of them are kind of apprehensive at first…but once they explore it and see what it’s like, it really gets some of their interest going for different things,” Cochran said.

Cochran also touched on the progress with the Public Safety Institute, geared towards law enforcement but also can cater to everyone. For more details on how you can be a part of that initiative, watch the full interview above, or you can click here.

For more information on those summer camps, you can visit Washburn Tech’s website by clicking here.