Ben Miller just can't get enough of
Lake Superior State University. Even after his graduation from the college, he's returned to the campus each year to be a counselor at LSSU's summer robotics camps. And this year marks his tenth year in that role, according to the university.
"I love Lake State and I love the area - I can't get enough of it. I also love seeing the kids and hearing their stories," Miller says.
Miller's a Quincy, Mich. native, who first began working at the camp as a counselor in 2001, when he was pursuing a LSSU teaching degree. He thought at the time it would just be a seasonal job, for a few years at the most. Instead, it turned into an annual summer pilgrimage, even after he graduated from Lake State in 2003.
"We really appreciate Ben for all he has done; there really aren't the words to express it," said LSSU professor Jim Devaprasad.
Devaprasad, a professor of manufacturing engineering technology, and Morrie Walworth, a professor of electrical engineering, first started up the robotics summer camps in 1991.
The camps have been offered for the last 20 years by LSSU's School of Engineering and Technology thanks to a mix of public and private funding.
In that time, there have been a lot of changes. The camp itself has grown to seven weeklong sessions. Walworth is now vice president for academic affairs and provost at LSSU. Devaprasad heads a cutting-edge robotics and automation systems program.
As for Miller, he keeps busy the rest of the year at the Bronson Schools Intermediate School District office downstate, but he says the same thing about his tenure as camp counselor now as he said back in 2001: "Maybe (I'll keep doing it) for another couple of years."
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: John Shibley, Lake Superior State University
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