St. Paul summer camp uses aviation to connect teens with first responder careers
ST. PAUL, Minn. — This summer, metro area teens will get lessons in first response by land, lake and air.
Home base of the five-day camp is the Learning Jet, a Boeing 727 at Holman Field in St. Paul. Steve Hurvitz helped launch the one of a kind classroom in 2014.
In recent years, he's turned his attention to hands-on teaching for high schoolers about the roles of first responders, who he believes often go unseen.
Teens learn about working with the fire department, they learn how to do water rescues, aerial rescues, and aerial searches. The first responders who partner with the camp feel like it's the perfect age to get teens connected and thinking about their careers.
"I think about teenage Dean and I grew up in a small town. I never has access to any of this kind of stuff," said Dean Grothem, a pilot with the Minnesota State Patrol. He said the hands-on approach of the first responder camp provides great opportunity and exposure.
"It's a great career to get started in early," said Captain Riley Onofrio said. "The job is all about learning through your career so the more time you can be in that, the more you're able to then pass on to the next generation."
Nearly a dozen local public safety organizations support the first responder camp. They hope to not only recruit future workers but to instill confidence among the teens.
"It's attainable. They realize it's not just a movie. This is something I can do in my community with a little bit of effort and a little bit of work," said Grothem.
One former camper is now in paramedic school.
There are still a few slots available for the first responder camp, which takes place the last week in June. Applications can be submitted here.
