Jax State Hosting Annual Deaf and Hard of Hearing College Prep Summer Camp
05/30/2025
By Brett Buckner
For more than 20 years, Jax State, working in partnership with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS), has hosted a week-long summer camp for high school juniors and seniors with some degree of hearing loss.
This year’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing College Prep camp will be from June 1 through June 7. Students are referred to our program through their Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS).
The camp seeks to ease students’ transition to college and aid them in being successful in a post-secondary educational career. In addition to a variety of activities, they will stay overnight in a dorm and have meals in the Dining Hall between classes.
“Our camp offers students an opportunity to learn about self-advocacy and what they will need to be successful in college, said camp coordinator Jennifer Yocum, who has been involved with the camp since 2006. “Many times, in high school, the parents met with school officials to determine what services would be needed - interpreters, assisted listening devices, etc. – but once the student comes to college, it is their responsibility to make sure those services are in place.”
- Classroom topics discussed during the week include:
- time management skills
- study skills
- self-advocacy
- learning styles
- a lecture simulation and
- career exploration
Students will research potential career paths they would like to pursue and will end the week with a PowerPoint presentation on that career.
Jax State incorporates student RAs who have attended the camp in previous years. “They are a great resource for students because they have been in their shoes,” Yocum said. “We also have professional staff who will be on campus for the duration of camp.