Camp EmpowerU Brings Cape May County Middle School Students to Local Atlantic Cape Campus this Summer

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Atlantic Cape Community College’s Cape May County campus hosted a newly-funded summer camp aimed at getting students to disengage from their phones, step outside of their homes and participate, with others their age, in a camp that would pique their curiosity while challenging them intellectually.

For five weeks between July 16 and August 15, the campus hosted the New Jersey Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) Camp EmpowerU on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. The camp was geared towards strengthening the skill sets and providing life lessons for Cape May County middle school students entering the 6th, 7th and 8th grades this fall.

Each week, a fresh and engaging topic from Goal Getters, Strive to Thrive and Safety Stars to Do You Mind? and Epic Farewell invigorated the students, kept them excited and motivated to learn, allowed them to make new friends, and, most importantly, have fun. The camp provided an excellent opportunity for county middle school students, who might otherwise spend their summer indoors, to get out of the house, interact with peers, and enjoy a dynamic learning experience.

“We know that there aren’t a lot of resources available in the summer for students who live and attend school in Cape May County, so we wanted to create a program for middle school students and offer them an opportunity to come to a summer camp,” said Laurie Smith, assistant director, NJ4S Atlantic and Cape May counties. “This camp is important because it provides students an opportunity they may not get to come out and experience different topics, information, and themed weeks. Plus, they get to meet students, make new friends from all over the county and just get out of the house instead of sitting at home.”

Begun in August 2023, NJ4S is a grant program made possible by funding through the State of New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families while being administered by Acenda Integrated Health. According to Smith, the Cape May County campus served as the perfect venue for this summer camp.

“Atlantic Cape’s campus here in Cape May County is a beautiful site and it was a great opportunity for us to partner with Atlantic Cape and have the students here on campus,” said Smith. “It provides us (NJ4S) with a great opportunity to have so many different locations in one building from the rooms, lecture hall, culinary kitchen and outdoor space.”

The Cape May County campus has been active this summer hosting numerous youth camps, community programs and academic classes offering various educational opportunities for the students, adults and professionals of Cape May County. The campus, day-in and day-out, demonstrates Atlantic Cape’s commitment to the community and industry partners throughout the county. Along with the NJ4S camp, the campus hosted the Cape May County Park & Zoo’s children’s summer camp, a nonprofit mini summit and two children's reading events. This month, Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional utilized the campus’ facilities for training staff members on their new computer system.

A robust schedule of Summer Semester classes gave college students, who are attending Atlantic Cape and any other four-year college or university, the ability to earn easily-transferable credits in as little as six weeks either online or on-campus. The campus offered numerous classes from computers, history and physiology to public speaking, sociology and more.

“We want the Cape May County campus to be a center of activity for all residents of Cape May County, a place for higher education, personal enrichment, workforce development and social activities. This summer we hosted local organizations like NJ4S/Acenda Integrated Health, NAACP, Cape May County Park & Zoo, Cape May County Chamber of Commerce and Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional,” said Krista McConnell, director of Cape May County campus and community outreach.

The Cape May County campus is looking forward to the upcoming Fall Semester that starts September 3. The campus is hosting a new Environmental Science course in collaboration with the Cape May Point Science Center, which is offering a $1,000 scholarship to new students who just graduated from high school. Also, being offered is a Culinary Arts Certificate program, which comes with a $2,500 scholarship and free knife set.

The campus also offers a unique, 13-week Fall Semester that runs September 23 - December 2 to allow students from Cape May County to fit their college education into their seasonal work schedules, which are heavily-dependent on tourism between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Visit atlanticcape.edu/course-catalog to view available classes.

Visit www.atlanticcape.edu/capemay for more information.

About Atlantic Cape Community College

Atlantic Cape Community College is a Middle States accredited, 2022 Achieving the Dream Leader College and Hispanic Serving Institution proudly serving the residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties. As a comprehensive, two-year community college, Atlantic Cape offers 47 undergraduate degree programs, and 33 certificate and professional series programs at its Mays Landing, Atlantic City and Cape May campuses. Atlantic Cape is home to the renowned Academy of Culinary Arts, rated the top culinary school in New Jersey, and for more than 50 years, our highly-acclaimed Nursing program. Atlantic Cape also partners with more than 30 colleges and four-year universities to offer students the opportunity to seamlessly earn a bachelor’s degree upon graduation.