North Carolina Emergency Management, along with a host of county and municipal agencies, hosted this year’s North Carolina Emergency Management Experience. This five-day program encourages young women in high school to learn more about careers in emergency management and public safety. The free camp, which took place June 22-26, 2026, featured team-building activities, hands-on trainings, field trips to visit partner agencies, and opportunities to take part in live demonstrations. The week concluded with a career fair and networking event to provide additional opportunities for participants. They learned disaster skills, practiced leadership development, and explored the fields of public safety, communications, public health, and government.
“The field of Emergency Management is really growing.” said Kimberly Clement, Assistant Chief of Preparedness and Strategic Operations for the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services, who spoke with the girls during the event. “I think it’s really good for our youth across North Carolina to have that information, to know that it’s a potential career path…It’s really important [for them] to have this opportunity, see different things that are out there, and how our system works.”
One of the most exciting days of the program for the participants was the trip to Falls Lake State Park. This event was designed to introduce the young women to real-world search and rescue operations. The exercise scenario involved a multi-agency search and rescue response involving four missing teenagers that were last seen at a campground near Falls Lake. Due to the proximity of the campground to the lake, the search efforts included both land and water resources.
The campers had the opportunity to join each partner agency to learn about and experience various search operations:
- South Orange County Rescue Squad and Wake Canine Search and Rescue walked participants through inland search methods, completed a technical carryout, demonstrated how canine search would integrate with the larger grid search and dogs track a scent trail.
- Johnston County, Wake Forest Fire Department, and the Wake County Sheriff’s Office worked together to demonstrate aerial, water surface, and underwater search operations using aerial drones, boat teams, a hovercraft, and a submersible remotely operated vehicle.
- North Carolina Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team (NC HART) provided a demonstration of helicopter-based aquatic rescue operations.
The rest of the week provided the participants with extensive learning opportunities, including:
- An overview of how to recognize misinformation and disinformation online, including how to identify manipulated or AI-generated photos and videos.
- An introduction to medical surge support and the Healthcare Preparedness Program that incorporated a tour of one of UNC’s support vehicles and a Medical Response and Rehab Unit.
- A field trip to Durham County where participants visited with the Durham County Sheriff’s Office’s Hazardous Devices Unit where they learned about responding to emergencies with suspected explosive devices.
- A visit to Durham Fire Station 13, where firefighters did demonstrations with tools used to detect hazardous materials, gave tours of the fire apparatuses deployed to calls, and showed how drone technology can be used to detect unknown substances.
- An exploratory fair hosted by Duke Health, where professionals, including Duke Campus Police Department, Duke Life Flight, and Duke Emergency Management introduced participants to critical medical care operations.
- An introduction to how communities manage stormwater to keep them safe and resilient, including how flooding risks are reduced, water quality is protected, and local drainage infrastructure is maintained.
- Trainings on hands-only CPR and AED administration from Wake County Emergency Medical Services, Stop the Bleed provided by Orange County Emergency Medical Services, and Mental Health First Aid provided by the NCDPS Responder Assistance Initiative.
A career fair where the young women engaged with partners from:
- Civil Air Patrol
- NC DHHS Breath Alcohol Testing (BAT) Mobile Unit
- NC Division of Public Health
- NC Emergency Management Association
- NC Forest Service
- NC State Highway Patrol
- NC State Parks
- NC State University
- NC Wildlife
- NCDPS Responder Assistance Initiative
- RDU Airport
- UNC Chapel Hill
- US Air Force EM
- Wake County Emergency Management and Fire Services
- Wake County Sheriff’s Office
The program culminated with a capstone project and a graduation luncheon featuring remarks from NC Department of Public Safety Secretary Jeff Smythe and NCEM Director Will Ray. The young women had the opportunity to ask questions about what motivated the leaders to pursue careers in public safety and emergency management.
Overall, participants came away with a deeper understanding of emergency response, career opportunities within emergency management and public safety, and the encouragement of leaders to be bold as they shape their futures.
North Carolina Emergency Management would like to thank the many partners that worked with these outstanding young women to make this event a success:
- Chatham County Emergency Operations
- City of Carrboro Fire Rescue Department
- Durham County Emergency Management
- Franklin County Emergency Management
- Harnett County Emergency Services,
- Johnston County Emergency Management
- Onslow County Emergency Services
- Wake County Emergency Management