Rayan Khan, a rising junior at Alliance Academy for Innovation in Cumming, earned Camper of the Week honors. He was grateful to meet Syfan Logistics CEO Jim Syfan, learn about the industry and see how to build his skills in a way that is effective in a world driven by artificial intelligence (AI). He drove an hour each way daily to attend the camp and made the most of the opportunities offered.

"People take a lot of things for granted," Khan said. "Every single opportunity can go a long way."

Going into the camp, Ty Policy, a May graduate of North Hall High School in Gainesville, had little knowledge about logistics.

"Now that I have a better understanding, it seems really interesting to me and something that I would probably want to pursue in the future," Policy said.

Dr. Lu Xu, associate professor of business analytics, was glad to see the students embrace the camp.

"Students were most responsive to the camp's experiential learning opportunities, particularly the field trips and guest speakers, which helped them connect classroom concepts to real-world logistics operations," Xu said.

Tam Nguyen, a rising senior at Discovery High School in Lawrenceville, said the things she learned at the camp have shifted her aspirations toward becoming an optimization engineer. She appreciated the message of not putting limits on herself and also gleaned an optimistic view of the impact of AI.

"AI is not going to replace people," Nguyen said. "They will work with each other."

Elijah Hoyt, a rising senior at North Hall High, isn't sure what his next steps will be after high school. But Camp Logistics was an important step in that direction.

"This was a great chance to explore opportunities, see what this career field looks like in day-to-day operations with all the field trips," Hoyt said. "You get to meet so many new people. It's a good way to network."