Eight students from schools around Berrien and Cass County have received police and fire training thanks to a camp hosted by Southwestern Michigan College this month.

SMC Educational Talent Search Director Bethani Mott tells us students from Niles, Cassopolis, Dowagiac, and Edwardsburg all took part in the simulated training with the Dowagiac fire and police departments the week of July 21. They learned a lot.

“The students had two days of police work where they got to see K9 demos, they got to do some mock traffic stops and scenarios, and that was probably their favorite part of the police days,” Mott said. “The fire days, the students got to learn all about how to put out a fire, and then on the very last day, we actually did some vehicle extrication and vehicle burns, and so the students got to work in groups with the fire department and put out a couple car fires.”

Mott says the ETS program at SMC is a federally funded initiative designed to expose students to potential careers, whether they’re in the skilled trades, public service, or science worlds. She says following this fire and police training, she knows at least three of the students now intend to become firefighters, either professionally or as volunteers.

The ETS program will hold an entrepreneur camp next week, where students can learn the ins and outs of starting and running a business. It’s previously held theater camps, outdoor career camps, and STEM camps.

Mott says the program is all about showing the students the wide range of futures that lay ahead of them.