Last week, the students of Cam High were invited to explore the inner workings of a government helicopter through a flight simulator set up by members of the U.S. Army.

The men in uniform also brought other various military combat-oriented simulators, ranging from shooting aircraft with a semi-automatic rifle to two-person, remote-controlled tank.

“The students were very excited,” said Ms. Debbie Prentice, career counselor and event coordinator. “I had promoted it so they were very excited to try it out.”

Prentice said students would be able to gain valuable information from the simulators and have fun at the same time. “By getting in the simulator, they could see what it’s like to be a pilot, if that is what they wanted to do as a career when they grow up or when they get out of college,” said Prentice. “This was a way to get themselves exposed to those careers, so they could get a feel for it and whether or not they really wanted to do it or not.”

The event was not an attempt to recruit any new personnel for the Armed Forces, but rather to expose high school students to the kinds of careers the Armed Forces offered, particularly those regarding aerospace.

“It was a good way to spend lunch on Wednesday,” said Peter Carter, junior who attended the event. “It was fun and interesting. There was a cool firing range simulator, tank simulator, Apache [helicopter] simulator, and UAV (unpiloted aerial vehicle) simulator.”

As part of the updated Naviance curriculum, students must attend at least two college or career workshops by the end of the school year. Students can sign up for these events through their Naviance account by searching under the “college visits” tab.