Bryson Hickson worked intently at a small desk at Aiken Technical College - getting some practice at soldering a circuit board.
He and five other high school students are participating in the college's Manufacturing and Nuclear Institute programs.
"I enjoy doing hands-on work," said the Aiken High School junior. "It gets me thinking and gets my hands working instead of just sitting in a classroom and hearing someone. This has really changed my horizons."
The three-week program provides the students the chance to learn about the nuclear industry - as well as other STEM activities - science, technology, engineering and math.
Dr. Joy Watson, the dean of technical education at Aiken Tech said, "We want more high school students that we can expose to what technical education is and what they can do within these fields."
The other students include Aiken High students Madison Whetstone, Jasmine Ingram and Jade Herron; Paul Zeaser of North Augusta High School; and Isaiah Irvin from Midland Valley High School. Each will receive six college credits for completing the classes. Their instructor is Jim Kronberg in electronics engineering technology.
"We're giving them a taste of different programs, such as hydraulics, pneumatics and general engineering," Kronberg said on Wednesday. "They're doing some simple electronics right now. We hope this is a wedge for them, as there are a lot of job openings in technical fields. They are badly needed, and we have to get these guys ready."
The teenagers have visited MTU America - the German company that builds massive diesel engines at its plant in Graniteville. They also were scheduled to visit other plants.
"(MTU) was really interesting," Irvin said. "It wasn't dirty like you would expect. It was extremely clean."
Zeaser spends part of the school day at the Aiken County Career Center, where he is pursuing a "completer" certificate in electricity.
"This is a great experience to see what they have here," he said.
That's just what Watson wants from these students and others. Some students at the Career Center - down the street from Aiken Tech on the Aiken-Augusta Highway - take dual enrollment classes at the college. Before the summer program ends next week, Watson plans to give the students a tour of the upcoming CSRA Manufacturing and Technology Training Center on campus - scheduled to open in the fall. That facility will house Aiken Tech's nuclear, welding and mechatronics programs.
"We can get these students to think about Aiken Technical College and continue into a two-year program here," Watson said.
Rob Novit is the Aiken Standard's education reporter.