Possible
Second Session II: July 12-31Deadline to Apply: May 1
The Federal Service Language Academy (FSLA)
is a 3-week residential program for students who are interested in
an immersive intensive language experience, fitness,
and exploring international-related careers with the federal
government.
During the two, three-week sessions, students will be
immersed in intensive language instruction in First-Year Arabic,
Chinese, Russian, German, Korean, Portuguese or Second-Year Arabic,
Chinese, Russian, German, Korean, and Portuguese from highly qualified
teachers, participate in a daily fitness program, receive career
counseling from federal agency representatives (possible agencies
include the CIA, DEA, FBI, State Department, Homeland
Security, the Peace Corps and US Armed Forces), and possibly receive
high school credit for successful completion of the academy upon
district approval.
Summer Sparrow has a steady hand. Her teammates noticed, and so did a
Stihl vice president. It helped her master a new skill: soldering.
"I was really excited to learn how to do it," said Summer, 14. "When I tried it, I found out I was pretty good at it." She stripped wires and soldered them to pins. Then she connected them
to a circuit board on the way to creating a wireless speaker.
This is a summer camp of a different kind.
Nearly 40 area high school students attending this fourth annual
Stihl Manufacturing Technology Summer Camp have a job to fulfill on an
assembly line this week. Teams will manufacture the speakers out of an array of parts. Members
of the team that creates the best process win $1,000 scholarships to
study STEM - science, technology, engineering and math - subjects after
high school.
Stihl created the camp to give teens a creative experience in a
manufacturing setting, said Christian Koestler, vice president of
operations. The German company produces chain saws and other outdoor
power tools at its U.S. headquarters off Lynnhaven Parkway. The company chose campers through written essays and classroom
grades. Each team started the four-day camp with $50,000 in play money.
High school seniors on a "supplier" team hustled in the back corner
of the room to assemble kits including batteries and audio receivers for
the teams producing the speakers. The fuel tank of Stihl's backpack
blowers serves as the container for the components. Orange speaker
grills and piston-shaped volume knobs are created on-site with a 3-D
printer.
The teens worked together at several stations Thursday. While one
used a mill to bore holes in the fuel tank, two others teamed up to
solder wires. A timer on one of their phones kept them on task.
"It's interesting to me to make something in a certain amount of time," said Murell Weimar, 17.
It's not just about speed. Teams must budget their money. They have
the opportunity to earn more throughout the camp and purchase additional
parts. Soldering is the bottleneck of the assembly line because it
takes time, but a pre-soldered amp costs 10,000 "dollars."
They will test their skills by building three wireless speakers
before Saturday's two-hour competition to see who can produce the most
with the best quality in a given time. "You see the natural leaders arising and you see the worker bees," Koestler said Thursday. "You see teams focused on the process and teams focused on the
product. Those focused on the product try to make it pretty; those
focused on the process are figuring out how much time they need for each
step. It will show on competition day who comes out ahead."
Members of Team "Amps" smiled and nodded their heads as Smash Mouth's
"All Star" blasted from one of their smartphones just before the lunch
break Thursday. They had produced the first working wireless speaker in
the room and all eyes were on them.
"All the students are engaged," said Andrew Jaeckle, STIHL's manager of talent acquisition.
Select a beginners tour (2 weeks, including a crash course) or an intermediate one (3 weeks).
Groups are limited to 12 students, and include hiking through the Eifel, as well as being introduced to Cologne, Aachen and Bonn. In Bonn, there are family stays.
Tuition costs include: All meals. group gear, accommodations, activities and transportation during the trip, including to and from Germany
Not included are: Personal gear and clothing, Airfare to and from the trip start and end airport (potentially Philadelphia; Bradley Int'l --Connecticut -- or JFK in NY), Trip Insurance, Health Insurance.
