It’s a bit fitting that Dominik Medgyesi, the son of a pipefitter, would have the special opportunity to learn more about the trades.

Medgyesi, a junior at Sandwich High School, was among the 32 students taking part in the latest Heavy Metal Summer Experience, put on by the DeKalb Chamber Foundation in collaboration with DeKalb Mechanical and various other community partners.

“I thought it was a good opportunity to try to figure out what trade I want to do,” Medgyesi said.

Heavy Metal Summer Experience is essentially a trades-centric camp exposing students to a bit of everything they need to know about the industry. Last summer, the program broke a record in its inaugural run by collecting a pool of 120 applications and accepting 31.

DeKalb Chamber Executive Director Matt Duffy said the camp’s appeal is evident.

“They love it,” Duffy said. “We’ve got even more of the tradespeople involved.”

For two weeks, students in the Heavy Metal Summer Experience were immersed in the trades, getting hands-on experience learning about everything from welding and pipefitting to plumbing and electrical work.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 9

Ivan Cook, 16, from Cortland, practices welding Thursday, June 11, 2026, during a session of the Heavy Metal Summer Experience at DeKalb Mechanical. The program, put on through a partnership between the DeKalb Chamber Foundation and DeKalb Mechanical, offers hands-on training to high school-aged students interested in a career in the trades. (Mark Busch)

Participants in the camp were required to rotate between various sites throughout DeKalb County, including stops at the Kishwaukee Education Consortium’s welding and construction trades locations, Kishwaukee College, DeKalb Public Works, Weaver Construction, Hopkins Park Pool, and more.

Duffy said it’s evident that the trades are increasingly popular these days.

“It’s a great career with benefits and good-paying jobs and good opportunities,” he said. “With the amount of people that are retiring out of the trades, that number isn’t even close to those that are coming into the trades. So, there’s a huge need, which means there’s jobs and you can earn while you learn. So, you don’t have to go into debt to do it.”

But the trades haven’t always been viewed as popular.

“The trades had a bad rap for a while,” Duffy said. “It was a dirty job. There’s a lot of technology involved in it.”

DeKalb Mechanical president and owner Kurt Mattson said he was pleased to see the way students were engaged day in and day out.

“They are eager,” Mattson said. “They show up to my shop an hour early for class. They’re helping us push a broom and sweep while they’re waiting.”

Mattson, who has been working in the trades for 18 years, said he and his own journeymen, staff and contractors are excited by the camp and what it offers.

“We wish we would have had this when we were their age,” Mattson said. “These guys are off to such a huge head start in theory. It’s really critical.”

The camp, by design, was meant to provide experiences to expose students to different layers of the trades that they may not always be afforded access to.

Resource Bank also provided basic finance information to students to help them as they enter the workforce.

Duffy described the camp as a success.

“We’ve got great numbers as far as recruiting, great number of attendees, participants and people part of it,” Duffy said. “We’re trying to do as much as we can for these kids.”

Centering student voices has been critical to the camp’s success, Mattson said.

“They’re telling us what they like, and more importantly, in my opinion, they’re telling us what they don’t like,” Mattson said.

Medgyesi said he’s not sure which of the trades he’s most interested in.

He said his end goal in attending the camp was to “figure out what I wanted to do in my future” and explore potential job opportunities.

Medgyesi said he’d already tried his hand at some of the exercises run during the camp.

“I’ve done some stuff at home like this,” Medgyesi said.

Medgyesi pointed to his father for sharing his knowledge and expertise with him.

“My dad’s been in the trades his whole life,” Medgyesi said.

Peyton Gutknecht-Sabin, a junior at Genoa-Kingston High School, said she was motivated to attend the camp, though it was not her first introduction to the trades.

“My dad, he works for the city of DeKalb,” Gutknecht-Sabin said. “He’s done that stuff. He’s telling me about it. ... He makes snow plows and trims the trees when there’s a storm.”

Project leaders said there were four girls in the class and one who helped with the administration of logistics.

Mattson said he’s excited to see girls taking interest in the trades.

“They’re doing exactly everything the boys are doing,” Mattson said. “They seem to be a little less bashful this year than some of the boys, so they’re getting their hands dirty real quick. But you know, we’re keeping hands busy. We’re not making anything too physically demanding.”

Mattson said he’d like to challenge the idea that the trades are male-dominated industries.

According to 2026 data from the U.S. Department of Labor, however, women make up the smallest share of workers in the trades and other related occupations.

“When we’re doing our recruiting, we’re asking for girls to apply,” Mattson said. “There’s a big need in the trades for females.”

Gutknecht-Sabin said she is still trying to make post-secondary plans.

When asked if she’d learned anything from the camp, Gutknecht-Sabin said yes, she did.

“Like what I want to do, and like what I don’t want to do,” Gutknecht-Sabin said. “Like which ones interest me, which ones don’t.”