When most of us remember internships, we picture days spent doing someone's "busy work," usually in an indoor environment. But that's all changed in the past several years. Recently, the Post-Record profiled several Camas students who spent the summer in internships ranging from new inventions to architecture.
Shannon Nickelsen has fond memories of visiting the local grange as a young child. Her grandmother, Orale Reude, was the junior grange leader in the Cape Horn area, just outside Washougal. "It was a part of our life," she said. "We used to put on flag ceremonies and candlelight ceremonies. On Sundays, we would have ham dinners at the grange. Grandma taught us how to set and wait tables, and we would get tips. It was so rewarding."
While many of their peers spent a carefree summer before the start of senior year, several Camas High School students were getting a taste of the "real world." The students, from the CHS math, science and technology magnet program, worked at internships ranging from studying on-site wind energy production, to unraveling the mysteries of Parkinson's Disease to helping design a new Camas elementary school. The internship program was coordinated by teacher Ron Wright. He made contacts with several area businesses and helped students find the best fit. The students took it from there, and worked with the individual businesses all summer.
It's difficult for anyone to be "out of their element," in a new culture with new customs, language and food. But try being only 12 or 13 and doing it. However, it's just what several local middle school students experienced this summer when they spent 14 days in Poland as a part of an exchange program with the city of Zabierzow. For years, Camas High School has sent students to Poland for an English language camp, but it's the first time a group of middle schoolers has gone. The trip came about after Camas Superintendent Mike Nerland recommended to Liberty Middle School Principal Marilyn Boerke that she set up a partnership with Zabierzow.
While students and parents may just now be thinking about school, both local districts have been busy this summer with a variety of projects. In Camas, construction on the Doc Harris Stadium, Camas High School and Dorothy Fox additions, as well as the completion of Hayes Freedom High School have been on the forefront. In Washougal, a variety of energy efficiency improvements, including retro-commissioning the heating and cooling systems at the high school, installing programmable thermostats in portable classrooms, and programming and monitoring heating/cooling control software so that unused spaces are not heated or air-conditioned unnecessarily.
There is a quote that comes to mind when thinking about people who do any kind of extreme racing activity. "Even in the most crowded races, the point is reached when fatigue drives us back into ourselves, into those secluded parts of our souls that we discover only under times of such duress and from which we emerge with a clearer perspective of the people we truly are." Camas resident Greg Laird understands this quote all too well after finishing the Hoka Key Challenge, a 9,000 mile trek with people described as "some of the world's most fearless riders."
At Camas Camp-n-Ranch, there are no strangers. "Come on in," director Tina Goodnight says. "Everyone is a friend here." Known as "Grandma Tina" to many, she is busy running a variety of local, farm-based summer camps, hoping to encourage a love of animals and the outdoors. The farm even has a mascot: Sugar, the one-legged rooster who greets everyone and loves to be held by children. "Everyone that comes here is looking for something," Goodnight said. "The parents are looking for quality programs for their kids, and the kids are looking for new experiences. Many of them have never even seen a chicken or a goat up close before."
People from all over the region flocked to downtown for the Camas Days festival. Everyone from tots to grandparents spent time sampling festival fare, perusing vendors booths and watching the various parades. The weather also cooperated, with temperatures in the 80s for most of the weekend. Children had their pick of activities to choose from at Kids Street, where ticket lines stretched around the block and young participants literally bounced from one activity to the other. Some of the choices included a bounce house, two bouncy slides, a rock wall and fast pitch area. Jennifer Harness came with her three young daughters. She has taken them to the festivities every year. "I love all the rides and especially the caterpillar (bounce ride)," 7-year-old Andie Harness said. "And I love the candy and horses in the parade." Her sister Alyssa, 5, enjoys the kids parade. "I love all the horses and the chicken," she said.
Elida Field is definitely not what you'd call an uptight artist. "I have three kids," she said. "I'm used to seeing the spaghetti fly through the air and hit a painting. If you can't just wipe it off, then it's not something I'm likely to have in my home." Field, who lives in Washougal, is taking that free-spirited concept into her latest venture, opening a downtown Camas art gallery. "I don't really have a name for it yet," she said. "I'm usually good at coming up with catchy little titles, but this has been difficult."
From an ice cream outing at Top Burger to Lacamas Lake at dusk, local photographers captured what they love most about Camas, in a contest sponsored by the local library. "It's an idea we've been kicking around for a number of years," Library Director David Zavortink said. "It really fits in with our mission of enriching lives and enhancing people's creativity." Several local residents submitted photographs, which are being displayed in the Second Story Gallery in the library. "The goal of the Second Story Gallery is really to promote the arts, which they are doing through this contest," Zavortink said. "They manage everything for us. "We've had a lot of people come in to look at the pictures and ask if we are doing it again next year, so there is a lot of interest."
