PIERRE, S.D. – In a cooperative effort with the South Dakota Board of Regents and the South Dakota Department of Education, South Dakota’s rising 7th and 8th grade students will have an opportunity to participate in free, five-day career exploration camps this summer. 2023 is the second year South Dakota’s Career Exploration Camps will be offered, with greater capacity for students.
Hosted on South Dakota college campuses, these camps will expose students to various career paths through fun, engaging and hands-on learning. Throughout the week, campers will spend time on university and technical college campuses and visit area businesses to see careers in action. By the end of camp, students will have a better understanding of themselves, their career interests and how their education prepares them for professions.
“We look forward to building off the success of last year’s inaugural career camps by partnering with our state’s technical colleges again this summer to offer more camps and a wider variety of career opportunities,” said South Dakota Board of Regents Executive Director Dr. Brian Maher. “We’re excited to showcase career options to our state’s middle schoolers and highlight the possibilities students have right here in South Dakota.
“This unique partnership among our public universities, technical colleges, and the Department of Education signifies a united approach to providing opportunities to our state’s young people so they can identify potential careers early on and narrow their focus as they move forward through their K-12 education,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Joseph Graves.
These career exploration summer camps are provided at no expense to students in South Dakota. The camp dates and locations are listed below. Those interested in learning more about what to expect or to apply can visit: ourdakotadreams.com.
2023 SUMMER CAMP DATES & LOCATIONS
June 18-22 | University of South Dakota + Southeast Technical College
June 25-29 | Black Hills State University + South Dakota Mines + Western Dakota Technical College
July 9-13 | Black Hills State University + South Dakota Mines + Western Dakota Technical College
July 9-13 | South Dakota State University + Lake Area Technical College
July 9-13 | Northern State University + Lake Area Technical College
July 9-13 | Dakota State University + Mitchell Technical College
This opportunity is being administered by the South Dakota Board of Regents and funded with federal dollars available to the South Dakota Department of Education through the American Rescue Plan.
