Not all summer camps involve swimming and capture the flag. For a group of female students across Baldwin County, theirs involved power tools and wood saws.
The Professional Women in Building …
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Not all summer camps involve swimming and capture the flag. For a group of female students across Baldwin County, theirs involved power tools and wood saws.
The Professional Women in Building council, an arm of the Baldwin County Homebuilders Association (BCHBA), brought back its Baldwin Girls Build camp for the second year after interest in the week-long hands-on camp that exposes girls to the diverse opportunities within the construction industry resulted in a doubling of the enrollment size.
"It's just really amazing where we're moving because I just think that with Baldwin Prep, we're going to have high standards and a lot more innovation, and this is just one of the ways we can continue with innovation with getting kids, girls, boys, everybody, interested in technical fields, and getting girls interested in non-traditional fields for women," said Morrell Baxter, a career coach with Baldwin County Public Schools.
Registration for the camp filled in less than 24 hours. Girls were exposed to hands-on building experiences, workshops, mentorship opportunities and field trips to industry partners.
"We saw marble getting cut by water (at Coastal Stone), and they showed us interior bathroom design, and I really like interior design and the marble was really cool," said Naomi Marshall, a rising Daphne High School freshman. Her mom signed her up for the camp last year, and though she didn't initially want to go, she made sure she got a spot this year.
"The building is always my favorite part. I like using the drill. I've had some experience (with power tools), but my dad would be too scared to actually let me use them without his assistance."
She said she liked that the camp was all girls so they could feel more comfortable.
That's one of the goals of the camp, said Marsha Jordan, BCHBA executive vice president. Build their confidence in the hands-on experiences and expose them to opportunities that are available to them in traditionally male-dominated fields.
Jordan arranged a group of women to volunteer as camp leaders, including Stephanie Hale from Coastal Stone, Nancy Grace from Bank Plus, Alicia Stone from Swift Supple, Jennifer Valere from Valere Homes and Amy Smith from Engel & Volkers, PWB.
A short-term goal is to get more girls wanting to go to Baldwin Preparatory Academy, the school district's new technical high school that is set to open this fall in Loxley.
"Even if they don't go into construction," Jordan said, "they can use (these skills) in everyday life."
First-year students started off with a lamp, which had to be made more difficult this year because they finished it so fast last year. Second-year students built a vanity mirror, and by the end of the week would be making Adirondak chairs to auction as fundraising for next year's camp.