Heavy Metal Summer Camp Introduces Teens to Construction Careers

The Heavy Metal Summer Experience (HMSE) provides high school students with hands-on exposure to construction trades, including HVAC and metalworking.
Alejandra Rios, who participated in 2021, was inspired to pursue marine maintenance at the Port of Seattle, where she is now an apprentice. “It got me thinking I would want to do this on a bigger scale, I really enjoyed it,” said Rios, whose career path might have been very different without HMSE.
Founded by Angie Simon, the program began with two camps in 2021 and has since expanded to 36 camps across the U.S. and Canada, reaching 500 students in 2024. “We started developing. What are we going to need to run a summer camp?” Simon recalled, collaborating with HVAC companies to design the program.
The 36-hour course teaches high school students about various trades, with flexibility in the structure of the camps. Some camps focus on different trades like plumbing or electrical work. “Camp is exhausting!” said Stacy Zerr of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Kansas City. “It’s packed with hands-on activities.”
For participants like Reuben Umanskiy, the experience was life-changing. Initially reluctant, he found himself welding and learning about construction. “It’s pretty epic,” he said, now working for Hermanson in Seattle.
The HMSE aims to give students the chance to try something new and explore careers they might not otherwise consider. Simon urges more contractors to take action: “It’s time for us to stop talking about it and start doing something about it.”
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