Submitted by Emily Davis, Dallas Education Foundation
This summer, 70 Dallas ISD high school students stepped into hospitals, tech labs, and business incubators, not as visitors, but as future professionals.
Through the Dallas ISD Career and Technical Education Learn & Earn Summer Camps, students had the chance to explore future careers, learn from professionals, obtain industry-recognized credentials, and earn a weekly stipend for their hard work.
From pitching business ideas to exploring hospital wings and coding alongside industry pros, students gained hands-on experience and a glimpse into the careers that await them.
At Vitals Camp, hosted by Methodist Dallas Medical Center, students explored careers in healthcare through hands-on programming. Students earned certifications in stop the bleed emergency response and basic life support. They toured hospital departments, connected with healthcare professionals, and even visited the LifeFlight helipad.
Across town, at Southern Methodist University’s Lyle School of Engineering, Tech Camp students were busy building facial recognition systems with Raspberry Pi cameras and Python. With the help of HAKing Innovation, students explored artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The camp culminated in a live demo of an AI-powered access system that scanned audience members’ faces to simulate a smart security entry. Students earned the Microsoft AI Data Fundamentals certification, putting them on the path to high-wage, high-skill jobs in the future.
At Biz Camp, held at Dallas College Workforce Center at RedBird, students stretched their entrepreneurial skills by developing business ideas. Led by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, students learned design thinking strategies and earned credentials in Google Cloud, IBM SkillsBuild, and Shopify. As a capstone, students pitched their business in a Shark Tank-style showcase to a panel of judges. The winning team, Chef Dash by Isaac E. and Gael J., is headed to NFTE Nationals in New York City to pitch their big idea.
Each of these camps was designed and led by Dallas ISD’s CTE Department with generous support from USAA in partnership with the Dallas Education Foundation.
