Teens Exploring Careers Camp
About The Camp
How It Started
The CyberWyoming Alliance held focus groups with high school aged girls in four locations across Wyoming to find out why girls weren’t interested in tech or cybersecurity careers. We listened, and we built this camp with the help of Casper College and a grant from the Daniel’s Fund to show how tech is integrated into their areas of interest.
How It Works
On June 16-21, 2023, we tested two mini-camp scenarios at once. The first scenario highlights intellectual property theft in a business/creative firm. It was presented to the campers in a murder mystery setting highlighting digital forensics and data protection. It was designed to teach students about copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property, confidentiality, and crime investigation. The girls solved the mystery and caught the crooks.
The second scenario highlights a healthcare ransomware scenario where, after touring a real hospital, the young women played the roles in admissions, the emergency room, radiology, billing, and social work. The patients were played by volunteers from the theater department. Midway through the scenario, the staged hospital experienced a ransomware attack and no incident response plan was available. The girls saved the day for the hospital.
Both scenarios featured industry speakers, real life situations, and fun activities over the five-day camp.
The Benefits & Results
At the end of the camp, feedback from the campers demonstrated their increased interest in medical, criminology, and technology careers. One camper expressed her interest in becoming an HR manager after performing that role in the mock hospital scenario. Similarly, another teenager who initially aspired to be a tattoo artist switched her career goal to radiology after touring the Casper hospital and actively participating in the mock hospital scenario.
Pre- and post-camp surveys revealed that all participants gained more clarity not only about their potential careers but also about the programs available to help them achieve their goals, such as mentoring, job shadowing, and internships. The campers also reported that their initial apprehensions about technology in these careers had diminished significantly.
MADE POSSIBLE BY
Want to host this camp in your community?
The camp curriculum, specifically designed to be run by non-technical individuals, is available for free to region wide community colleges and universities. Each scenario is designed to be run over a long weekend. Additionally, preconfigured laptops and a mock hospital database will be available for a nominal rental fee, facilitating quick setup of the camp by participating organizations.
The Teens Exploring Careers Camp is possible due to a generous grant from the DANIELS FUND. The Teens Exploring Careers Camp was developed by Casper College and CyberWyoming Alliance.
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