MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Math and science are two subjects the average high school student hates. For the students who embrace these studies however, engineering is a viable career choice.
The Marine Corps Engineer School aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune is scheduled to host an Engineering and Construction Camp for high school students in the area who are interested in an engineering career path June 17-23 sponsored by the Coastal Carolina Post of the Society of American Military Engineers.
Many high school students applied and the top 30 who made it through the selection process, based on grade point average and other factors, were chosen to attend the camp. This is the first year a SAME Engineering and Construction Camp will take place aboard a Marine Corps Base.
Master Gunnery Sgt. David W. Prutz, a Marine in charge of planning the camp, said there will be very little military involvement other than the fact MCB Camp Lejeune will be providing a space. He said some military engineers are participating, but civilians are the main orchestrators of the event.
“We are not using this camp as a recruiting tool,” said Prutz. “If one or two of these students goes to college and gets a degree in engineering, and commissions into the Marine Corps because of this camp, it would be great. It however, is not the intent.”
Prutz said that the main goal of the camp is to get students interested in the engineering field because there was a drop in American students pursuing an engineering degree in recent years.
“We want to educate young students, so they know what career options they have going forward into college,” Prutz added.
The SAME Engineering and Construction Camp at the Marine Corps Engineer School is scheduled for June 17-23.