Harper offers career shadowing for kids
Harper College is putting kids to work this summer. A new offering through the college's popular InZone program — a summer enrichment and sports camp for children — allows participants to work directly with professionals in a variety of career fields, from nursing and veterinary medicine to teaching and sports officiating.
The “Career Exploration” series will give budding vets, teachers, umpires and nurses the opportunity to evaluate simulated patients and keep detailed medical charts, create lesson plans, interpret X-rays and interpret veterinary case studies, or learn — through actual simulations — the nitty-gritty rules of basketball, baseball and more.
“The goal of InZone always has been to pique children's interest in a variety of activities and potential career fields. This exploration series is a natural extension of that,” said Kevin Hahn, the Continuing Education Youth Program coordinator. “We think it's pretty neat to be able to learn the ropes by shadowing a professional, and we know the kids will agree.”
The Career Exploration courses are open to children ages 11-14, and each edition will be offered twice this summer. InZone overall offers about 250 courses in a wide variety of subjects, including athletics, fishing, music, fashion, dance, cooking, reading and science. Also available this year are a variety of arts programs — including a Broadway class that will let children brush up on their singing and stage presence before presenting for their parents at the class' end, a session that lets students build and custom-finish their own electric guitar, a beginning harmonica class that will have students playing the blues alongside Chicago musician Lincoln Beauchamp, Jr., and a Film Academy allowing kids to explore acting and make their own movie.
InZone is open to ages 8-14; courses run Monday through Thursday, with separate Friday programs available. Classes run through Friday, Aug. 12, and registration is ongoing. To register or for more details, including a complete InZone course schedule, call (847) 925-6300 or visit harpercollege.edu/youth.