Discovery Camp making fourth appearance at Rend Lake College

INA, Ill. (Jan. 11, 2016) - Applications are now available for Rend Lake College’s fourth annual Discovery Camp, returning to the Ina campus Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22.

The free camp helps students between seventh and twelfth grades navigate a number of health care fields with interactive sessions and fun activities. Some of the fields highlighted include emergency medical services, air evacuation, radiology, nursing, veterinary science, pharmacy, medical coding, phlebotomy, and medical assisting.

Kim Wilkerson, Dean of Allied Health, said Discovery Camp continues to be a success for both first-time students and those who choose to come back multiple years.

“Discovery Camp provides a great, hands-on approach to getting those students who are about to start making big life decisions into a setting where they can explore the health care industry and see what really fits their personality and desire,” said Wilkerson. “Every year we have between 30 and 50 students who spend two days with us. This year, we have a visit from Air Evac and a mock accident planned for students to interact with as they are both two of our most popular events.”

Discovery Campers in 2015 posed for a group shot with members of Air-Evac 11 of Mt. Vernon on the RLC campus. Pictured is, in alphabetical order, Samantha Alverth (Thompsonville), Dakota Alvis (Tamaroa), Kaylee Anderson (Mt. Vernon), Madelyn Barker (McLeansboro), Abigail Barnes (Tamaroa), Sarah Barnes (Tamaroa), Breanna Bowers (McLeansboro), Rebecca Bowers (McLeansboro), Fallyn Bradley (Benton), Tyson Broy (West Frankfort), Madeline Burgess (Valier), Jordan Eickelman (Benton), Jasmine Fields (Bluford), Rhiannon Gudermuth (Mt. Vernon), Audrey Gulley (Benton), A'Ralen Hunter (Mt. Vernon), Caleb Isaacs (McLeansboro), Elizabeth Isaacs (McLeansboro), Logan Johnson (Centralia), Madeline Johnson (Scheller), Katelynn Jones (Mt. Vernon), Meadow Jordan (Mt. Vernon), Elizabeth Kiselewski (Waltonville), Anna Kistner (Scheller), Hannah May (McLeansboro), Kate Miller (Macedonia), Elaine Miller (Macedonia), Kennadie Ohse (Simpson), Camryn Parker (McLeansboro), Diamond Phillips (Mt. Vernon), Maryk Phillips (Mt. Vernon), Leah Ragan (McLeansboro), Hallie Rednour (Mt. Vernon), Michaela Rexing (McLeansboro), Gabrielle Smith (Centralia), Mitchell Supancic (Benton), Dakota Taylor (Texico), and Alexis Wood (Waltonville). Click on the image for a larger view.
(ReAnne Palmer / RLC Public Information)

Lunch will be provided both days for attendees, as well as a Discovery Camp 2016 T-shirt. Parents and guardians are invited to attend with their student. Transportation to and from the camp on both days will be provided by establishing some pick-up and drop-off points throughout the area.

Applications and more information will be provided to students in local schools, and will also be available by contacting RLC’s Community and Corporate Education Division at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1714 or commcorped@rlc.edu. Submit all completed applications to the division at 468 N. Ken Gray Pkwy, Ina, IL 62846.

The camp continues to be provided for free to local students, thanks to sponsorships from RLC, South Central Illinois AHEC Network, SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon, Hamilton Memorial Hospital District, and Pinckneyville Community Hospital. To view more photos from last year's Discovery Camp, visit www.rlc.edu/pressroom.