16 Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. SEMCA FIELD TRIPS OVERVIEW SEMCA Hosts Over 100 K-12 Students for Winter Field Trips In an effort to connect high school students to skilled trades careers, SEMCA staff have noticed an increase in schools reaching out to host a field trip at the academy. VP of education at SEMCA, Deanna Morley says this may be the new normal for the foreseeable future. “This field trip has changed the whole trajectory for my future,” said a Fraser High School junior on his class field trip to the Southeast Michigan Construction Academy. “I was exposed to so much more that I didn’t know was considered ‘construction.’” “I think we’re still seeing the trend that students are once again encouraged to explore a career in the trades and that college is not this ‘be-all, end-all’ path for success,” Morley said. “It’s encouraging for the staff to see, too, the spike in recently graduated seniors applying to the school.” School field trips include a variety of stations designed to showcase the many fields of working in construction. The stations included learning about carpentry, electrical, welding, safety, an overview of SEMCA, and building information modeling using software provided by Procore. Enthusiastic students and teachers from local schools had 20 minutes in each station to explore the tools used in specific trades, learn about some fundamental principles, and ask questions with people who work in the industry about successful career pathways. SEMCA instructor George Collar teaches Fraser students about open and closed switches. The Southeast Michigan Construction Academy sets aim on construction as a career exposure for K-12 through hands-on field trips.
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