Nearly 20 high school students spent part of their summer vacation working towards their future vocation by attending the second annual UAB CampBIZ.
The weeklong academic day camp, which was held in June, provided students with the opportunity to improve their business acumen and prepare for the transition to college through a series of workshops and discussions delivered by business experts.
This year’s camp theme was “Business Meets Science & Technology.” Activities included a tour of the UAB Technology Innovation Center with executive director of infrastructure Rachel Moorehead; a sneak peek of the new UAB Science and Engineering Complex with School of Engineering associate dean Andrew Sullivan, MSc, PE; and a meeting with UAB vice president for information technology and chief information officer Curtis Carver Jr., Ph.D.
Students also heard from members of the Birmingham-area business community. Speakers included Anthony Hood, Ph.D., former vice president and chief access officer for First Horizon Bank; Jessica Watts, owner of the House Plant Collective; and Hilary Batista, last year’s CampBiz coordinator and current copywriter at Telegraph Creative.
But it wasn’t just all talk at CampBIZ. There were plenty of fun hands-on projects for students as well. For example, the Collat Career Center presented The Perfect Pitch, an opportunity for students to craft their elevator pitches and practice them in real-time while riding on Collat’s elevators. Students then were able to put what they learned into action at a mini career event with officials from the Birmingham Barons, UAB Solar House, software company QuantHub, and the Birmingham Business Alliance.
CampBIZ ended with a banquet and a keynote address from Valerie Alexander of Speak Happiness, who discussed leadership tactics and gave students a copy of her book “Success as a Second Language.” Students also heard from UAB alums Ella Stanley, economic empowerment advisor with Inspiritus Refugee Services, and Magan Weeks, a recruiter at Books-a-Million.
“CampBIZ reflects UAB’s shared values that we are better together,” said camp director Alicia Clavell McCall, a senior instructor at the Collat School of Business. “CampBIZ brings current students, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators, educators and community business leaders from Birmingham and beyond together for a great cause. And that is just good business.”