Be the Change was the Rehabilitation and Human Services (RHS) degree themed camp with a focus on community service.
The campers spent the week at multiple venues learning about the different aspects of community service. The first day they went to Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) and met with Hilda Rivera from the Department of Community Health. The students learned about public health and the community health services offered by LVHN.
The rest of the week the students assisted with STEM and art enrichment activities at McKinley Community School’s summer camp; engaged residents of Phoebe Home in Allentown at their annual summer picnic; and helped children from the Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley create paintings to be auctioned off at the organization's annual fundraising event.
“All of the sites we visited offered the students something unique and showed them the different aspects of a career in service. On Wednesday, we went to a food bank in Allentown. The students packaged food and had an opportunity to interact with the individuals and families who came to the food bank for assistance,” said Teri Kistler, instructor in RHS and camp program coordinator. “The students said they really enjoyed that day and liked the feeling of helping others.”
"Penn State Lehigh Valley’s Teen Pathway Programs are designed to expose high schoolers to the amazing career opportunities Penn State Lehigh Valley’s signature programs can open for them," said Doug Antonioli, director of the Penn State Lehigh Valley Writing Project. "Our Teen Pathway Programs are meant to give kids hands-on, real-world experiences in the majors they might choose to pursue. This allows students to explore their interests in an educational and engaging way."