Students take flight at unique USF summer camp

TAMPA - At the first-ever USF Drone Camp, participants are learning more than how to fly. 

"We want them to understand that flying drones is super cool, but there's also so much more that goes into it, and there are real career opportunities that are available to them," USF Youth Experiences Assistant Director Caryn Preston said. 

Yes, campers learn how to fly drones. They do an obstacle course used for aerial competitions, but they are also learning how to repair drones, which involves learning how to solder. 

"Here the skills you're learning is how to actually apply drones to real world problems," Scoutlier CEO Brandy Jackson said. "Now you're not just a consumer, you're a creator. You're a problem solver. You're going to learn what it takes to fix a drone. We're doing very minute soldering because the panel of a drone is tiny."

Scoutlier, a learning platform, helped design the curriculum for the week-long camp. Along with USF, they partnered with the AMRoC (Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics Center) Fab Lab at the University Mall, who owns the equipment. 

"What I like about drones is that I can build it, code it, drive it, use it how I like," 17-year-old camper Aras Demirok said. 

Throughout the week, participants also work in groups to create and develop a business plan involving the use of drones like wedding videography and package delivery.