Trades-centric summer camp gives DeKalb area youth peek at future jobs

DeKALB – Anthony Meyers, 17, a rising senior at DeKalb High School, was still studying when his summer break began.

He wasn’t in a typical classroom, but that’s exactly where he wanted to be, he said.

Meyers was one of 31 DeKalb County teenagers who attended Heavy Metal Summer Experience, a new program that aims to introduce teens to skills necessary for trades work. In sessions from June 2 to June 12, students learned about mechanical, electrical and plumbing jobs.

“It’s not that you have to be here, but it’s a good experience to have,” Meyers said. “Every company that we have worked with, all the staff members have treated us like their own.”

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Participants in the Heavy Metal Summer Experience put the finishing touches on a tool box they made Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at DeKalb Mechanical. The program, put on through a partnership between the DeKalb Chamber Foundation and DeKalb Mechanical, offers a hands-on training to high school aged students interested in a career in the trades. (Mark Busch)

For almost two weeks, Meyers did welding, plumbing, electrical work, metal bending and more.

“I feel like it’s a good hands-on camp, it teaches you a lot,” Meyers said. “There’s really a lot of experiences, and [it’s] a way to guide kids to show them different routes if they’re not trying to go to college.”

DeKalb wasn’t the only city with a Heavy Metal Summer Experience this year. Nearly 900 high school students in 49 other cities across the country were expected to participate this summer.

The DeKalb Chamber of Commerce was one of the event’s organizational partners, a key to bringing the experience to DeKalb for the first time.

Matt Duffy, chamber executive director, said DeKalb’s summer experience broke records. The chamber helped solicit student applications.

“When we put it out there, we got a tremendous response,” Duffy said. “We actually had the most applicants in the country for this program, and we had the largest number of applicants participating in the first year of the program.”

While the camp was held through a chamber partnership, it took collaborations with local businesses and institutions to turn it into the type of learning environment organizers intended for students.

“I enjoy the plumbing a lot. I’m just a man who likes getting my hands dirty.”

—  Anthony Meyers

Campers learned to weld at Kishwaukee Community College’s welding lab. They got their hands dirty at DeKalb Mechanical, 339 Wurlitzer Drive.

Kurt Mattson, president and owner of DeKalb Mechanical, said his company partnered with the chamber to help give the teens a thorough peek into what a trade career could look like.

“Seeing the future of the trades here is just really impressive because these kids are smart, they are well behaved, they show up on time, if not an hour early,” Mattson said. “And it’s just really refreshing to me.”

Kaylie Bruckner, 17, of Sycamore, said she thinks camp was extra special because it helped her bond with her dad.

“He’s an electrician,” Bruckner said. “This is just more of an insight on seeing what other trades do and what I want to go into, and if there are any other options, I want to keep my mind open to other than electrical.”

Though Bruckner was excited to see what a typical work day looks like for her dad, other trades caught her eye, too.

“I love welding,” Bruckner said. “It’s kind of hard. I burnt through metal a few times, but it’s not like I’ve done it a lot.”

Meyers said that of all the work experiences he got to sample throughout the camp, his favorite was plumbing.

“I enjoy the plumbing a lot,” Meyers said. “I’m just a man who likes getting my hands dirty.”

On the penultimate day of camp, Meyers encouraged others to give the unorthodox Heavy Metal Experience a try. The camp is for learning new things, after all, he said.

“They told us, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know, until you find out what you know,’” Meyers said. “I feel like it’s a good experience to jump into. Don’t overthink it, just try it. There are no cons to the program.”

Breckner said there was nowhere else she would rather have been.

“I would love to be here all the time. I wish this went longer,” Bruckner said. “If you have the chance to sign up for it, sign up for it.”