DECATUR - Shaquil Cole probably would have preferred to spend his summer in ways other than at business camp.

But after spending a week at CampCEO held at Millikin University, the MacArthur High School junior is glad he was chosen to be there. The camp concludes today.

"The camp is not really what I wanted to do," said Cole, who has wanted to be a lawyer since he was 8 years old and is now thinking about opening his own law firm. "I'm glad I did come here."

Cole is among 10 students participating in a program through Workforce Investment Solutions that provides youths with summer employment using federal stimulus money. The program will put them through two more weeks of classroom work and two weeks of on-the-job training.

"The whole thing is geared to make them comfortable when they go into a business and try to get a job," said Mary Little, the lead instructor for the program. "They don't realize what else is out there and it's good to broaden what they're able to do."

Quincy Ledbetter, who will be a freshman at Eisenhower High School, applied for the program as a way to make money in an otherwise tight summer job market. Ledbetter might have preferred a job with more hours to make more money, but like Cole and MacArthur freshman Courtney Hughes is glad they're getting the experience.

"As we get money for this, we're also learning," Ledbetter said. "I've always wanted to be in the NBA, but I now see I can do something else if that doesn't work out."

Hughes said she was looking for a camp to attend over the summer, and CampCEO worked out in her favor.

The students who are a part of the Workforce Investment Solutions program were among 21 campers whose main task for the week was to work in groups to develop a business plan.

The groups were working Friday to finish up 7-minute presentations about the businesses they could potentially start, including a cancer care center, event planner, after school hangout in Decatur, advertising firm and candy store.

They were told the presentations are similar to what competitions are like in the real world when would-be entrepreneurs have one chance to impress.

Meridian High School sophomore Morgan Mowry attended the camp for a second time, realizing the importance of learning about business.

"You're not just stuck a classroom," Mowry said. "You don't have to wait until you're out of high school. You should apply yourself when you're young."

clusvardi@herald-review.com|421-7972