Dressing the infected rear-end of a partial medical dummy wasn’t on the summer checklist for Dillon County rising eighth and ninth graders.

Northeastern Technical College Medical Assistant Instructor Latonyia Hunter revealed the plastic replica featuring bed sores, infections, and a nasty case of diaper rash during a June 18 class for the Trailblazer Summer Campers.  

The long silence and bugged-out eyes among the underclassmen in the Dillon High media center were a clear indication today’s lesson into the medical field may be tad bit gross.  

“It can be a lot, but you will get a stomach for it,” Hunter said.  

Northeastern Technical College hosted rising eighth graders and freshmen from June 3-21 in Marlboro and Dillon Counties aimed at introducing students into manufacturing and medical fields through a series of classes and trips.  

NETC’s Trailblazer Camp is designed to expose young students to high demand and high wage careers available close to home and without debt burden of a four-year university, said NETC President Dr. Kyle Wagner. 

“It is crucial for eighth graders and high school freshmen to begin exploring the industrial workforce. Our summer camp provides them with early exposure to real-world career opportunities and helps young students develop an understanding of the essential skills that are highly valued and needed,” he said.  

Students who completed the camp received a free workforce certification. 

In Dillon County, students met at Dillon High with Marlboro County students meeting at NETC campus in Bennettsville. 

In the Dillon High media center, Hunter brought her medical assistant students who broke out with the high schoolers for one-on-one training to take and read blood pressure and using the traditional cuff and pump and operating an oxygen reader.  

Then, the high school students took blood pressure readings on the NETC students. 

“Medical assistants are jacks-of-all-trades,” Hunter explained to the high school students how medical assistants help nurses and physicians from a wide range of duties from taking vital signs, administering medications, making follow-up appointments, to dressing wounds like bed sores.  

Most important, she said, anyone in the medical field must learn to create bonds and trust with patients.

After the ice was broken among the students, the less grossed-out students took turns with each step measuring an infected bedsore, cleaned the wound, placed an antibiotic, and dressed the wound and a final date and initials.  

“Remember, if it was not documented, it didn’t happen,” Hunter said.  

Due to a sinkhole that developed April 18 at the NETC Cheraw Campus exit point facing Hwy 9, it has been closed to thru traffic.

There is one entry and exit point facing Hwy 9.

Traffic may also utilize the entry and exit facing Tec Road.

College Administration and the Maintenance Department are working diligently to address this issue.

It’s not every day a middle school student can walk on a college campus to fight against a pantheon of gods. 

Northeastern Technical College Athletic Department can arrange this ethereal combat through its Summer Esports Camp open to both middle and high school students. 

From 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 8-10, NETC Esports hosts middle school students where they are introduced to competitive gaming with strategy sessions for individual along with teamwork skills while playing a variety of games such as the Call of Duty, Super Smash Bros., Fortnite, NBA2K, Madden, Overwatch 2, Counter-Strike, Valorant, and more.  

High school students follow up July 15-17 diving into more advanced gaming strategies, said NETC Athletic Director and Esports Head Coach Tyler Nolan. 

Spaces limited to 16 participants on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration is $150, which includes lunch throughout camp. 

“Between gaming sessions, students are tasked with researching and reporting on various topics about the video game industry, skills and education needed to enter various fields, and jobs available,” said Nolan, whose gaming background includes being a member of pro team FaZe Clan earning a spot through a national competition and maintaining streaming content.  

“The video game industry generates about $100 billion annually in America outperforming Hollywood with opportunity to be a part of it from game developers to reporting,” he said. 

High school students who enjoy competition gaming, can transition into the intramural program open all full-time, part-time, and dual enrollment NETC students, Nolan said.  

However, to be an official Trailblazer team member, students must be full time with at least 12 semester hours and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0, according to National Junior College Athletic Association rules, in which NETC participates under.  

Competitive gaming generates more than billion dollars annually in the United States with professional teams franchising into larger areas, Nolan said.  



Outside of playing a video game competitively, career paths in esports are like physical sports – video NETC’s set-up for student gamers consists of 20 Alienware machines with monitors in a dedicated space in the John C. West Building.