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March 25th, 2010 by: Marta
Dear iD Nation,
My name is Pete, and I am the president of iD Tech Camps. Summer camp is just around the corner—90 days and counting. Can you believe it? We’ve got a $50 savings which ends in 10 days—but I think it’s important to find a camp that is right for you. I send my own kids to some wonderful summer programs. I want well-balanced programs that deliver quality, safety and fun for my kids. And I don’t want to waste my money. How about you?
My sister and I have been at the helm of iD Tech Camps for 12 years. We’re an independent, family-operated company with a loyal following 100,000 students strong. But we’re the #1 tech camp in North America because we’ve built our business one student at a time. Our goal is to deliver an unforgettable technology experience. So, why do I think iD Tech Camps is so extraordinary? Here are 5 reasons. We call it the iD Difference.
- TECHNOLOGY IS DRIVING OUR ECONOMY FORWARD. Some of the best jobs of the future are, and will be, related to computer science, green tech, green energy, web and mobile apps, social media, game design and more. The development of these skills is no longer optional. It is essential. Our fun, challenging courses are developed using products from the best technology companies on the planet. Students immediately put these skills into action—at school, preparing for college and entering the job market. Courses are beginner through advanced.
- STRETCHING YOUR DOLLARS. Saving money is important. Here’s what we’re doing.
- You save $50 when registering by April 4th. Seats are filling up.
- We have not increased tuition on Day Camps this season.
- Tuition for Overnight Camp has increased only modestly.
- When you refer friends, you save $50 and your friend does too! The rewards have increased from $25 to $50 this season.
- There are additional $50 savings for siblings and multi-week participants.
- PERSONALIZED INSTRUCTION, GUARANTEED RATIOS, ADULT-ONLY STAFF. We don’t cut corners. We average 6 students per instructor. Personalized instruction is the core of our business. We even guarantee our ratios, which is unheard of in the camp industry. If we ever exceed 8 students per instructor during instructional time at iD Tech Camps, your camper comes back for a free week of camp. Additionally, we only hire adult staff to teach and mentor—we do not have CITs (counselors in training) teach our courses. Our staff is trained in-person and all members must pass extensive background and reference checks.
- THE COLLEGIATE EXPERIENCE AT TOP CAMPUSES IN THE U.S. & CANADA. When I was a kid, I attended several camps on college campuses, and the experiences changed my life. Students at iD study, explore and play on campus, eat in the university dining halls and overnight students stay in real college dorms. And for teens looking to boost their portfolios, we offer accredited Continuing Education Units at all our locations. I’ve got a seat waiting for you at iD! Check location availability.
- LEARN ALL YEAR LONG. FOR FREE. Parents have asked us over the years, “Do you offer anything after summer?” In response, we began iD 365. We are confident no other summer camp offers this extra value. Here’s how it works:
- When you register for summer camp, you automatically get access to our monthly online workshops taught by live instructors.
- Students log on from home, learning awesome new technologies and getting their questions answered in real time.
- The best part? iD 365 is free when you register for our summer camp!
Many of us at iD have kids and teens of camp age. We want the best for our kids, just like you want the best for yours. When you drive off and see your kids in the rear view mirror, we want you to feel confident in our camp staff. We set high expectations, and your family deserves that. If you enroll at just one summer camp in 2010, I hope you’ll consider our program.
If you have questions, please feel free to give us a call at 1-888-709-TECH (8324), option 1, or for international calls, 408-871-2227, option 1. I’ve personally witnessed how iD Tech Camps has changed the lives of so many students over the years. Students who knew nothing about technology are now doing amazing things. We hope to see you this summer!
Sincerely,
Co-Owner and President
March 25th, 2010
Posted in: CEO's Blog
March 17th, 2010 by: Pete
When we say we are a family company, we mean a lot of things. I’m the CEO of iD Tech Camps, and Alexa, my sister is the CFO. We’ve been labeled “an inspiring brother and sister team,” but there are other longtime connections that run deep and help make up our ‘iDNA.’
In the early days of iD, circa 2000, we were fortunate enough to bring on Andrea Ajemian and Jon Artigo as summer staff members who would later join iD full time as Regional Managers. These exceptional individuals eventually left iD after many years of service, to pursue their dreams of making movies full time.
Since then, this talented duo has collaborated on many award-winning films. Freedom Park is one of those films. It was created in collaboration with other iD Tech Camps colleagues including Chad Meserve, Julie Fletcher, and Kevin Painchaud.
With light-hearted and fast paced scenes, Freedom Park is an ideal film for our students who want to learn video editing with professional content and professional editing software Apple® Final Cut Pro 7®. The challenge and experience of editing raw footage to meet the vision of the film is “on the job training” at its best. Curriculum for our film camp course is titled Video Editing & Special Effects. The curricuulum has been developed by Jon Artigo, Writer and Director of Freedom Park, who is also currently Assistant Chair and Teacher for the Film Department at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Student projects will ultimately be posted on YouTube at iD Tech – Freedom Park.
These days, Andrea Ajemian, Co-Founder and Producer of Artigo/Ajemian Films, is busy with promoting their latest film, BoyBand BoyBand, starring Hollywood talent, is a teen comedy about the formation of the world’s first boy band in 1982. The film recently screened for distributors in Beverly Hills and is awaiting distribution news.
At iD Tech Camps, anything is possible! We are thrilled to have such creative talent on board. We hope all of our students will have a blast editing real footage from Freedom Park the movie. This is an extremely unique opportunity–and one I am convinced will be top notch for our budding young filmmakers. Who knew movie camp could be so cool? Ready to do something big this summer?
Have a great day!
-Pete
March 17th, 2010 | Tags: film camp, movie camp, summer film camps
Posted in: CEO's Blog
February 19th, 2010 by: Pete
Hello iD Nation,
This email was just sent to one of our client services reps. Roque received this email yesterday and sent it to me. I love, love, love hearing stories like this. We often hear that students at our summer camps learn more in a week with us than they do at a year in school. The below email pretty much sums it up:
_______________________________________________________
From: Susan (Last Name Withheld)
Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 3:29 AM
To: roque@internaldrive.com
Subject: ID Tech Camp experience 2009
My son, Andrew, attended ID Tech Camp C++/Java class at the University of Michigan in the summer of 2009. This year, Andrew is in the 10th grade and attends our high school’s math/science program. One of his classes this year is Java 1 and he is scheduled to take Java 2 next year. I would like to share with you the progress Andrew has made this year because of the education he received at your camp.
The instruction he received at your camp in one week was the equivalent to about half a year of his Java 1 class. His computer teacher would like him to work aggressively through the remaining modules so he can complete Java 1 and 2 this year. I would like to commend you on your dedicated and talented instructors that provide such an excellent education.
Sue (Last Name Withheld)
_______________________________________________________
Sue, thanks for writing to us! It is great to see that Andrew had such a positive experience at our summer camp for teenagers. He is now on the fast track.
Best,
Pete
February 19th, 2010 | Tags: computer camps, programming camps, programming classes, programming courses, Summer Camps, Summer camps in Michigan
Posted in: CEO's Blog, University of Michigan
February 11th, 2010 by: Pete
For Immediate Release
San Francisco, February 9, 2010
As a featured guest at the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Pre-G-20 Forum this past fall, Google Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt was asked what type of training young people should pursue to gain the skills necessary to work in the tech sector of the future. Not surprisingly, he wants kids and teens to learn programming. But the idea that surprised many in the room? He thought playing video games had value too.
“The game world is good training for a career in tech,” said Schmidt. “It teaches players to build a network, to use interactive skills and thinking.”
Schmidt’s words may come as a shock to those of us who weren’t born with a laptop or a smart phone in our hands. His comments directly contradict what popular culture has been telling us for years; that video game playing is only for entertainment value and doesn’t lead to any long term benefits. We think of gamers as chip-eating, soda-drinking couch potatoes destined to work minimum wage temp jobs for the rest of their lives. We haven’t connected the dots…that gaming can actually be a valuable stepping stone leading to better results for surgeons, athletes, computer scientists and engineers. An AP Article covered a study from Beth Israel Medical Center with the title “Surgeons may err less by playing video games: Three hours a week decreased mistakes by 37 percent, study finds.”
“It’s refreshing to hear somebody like Eric Schmidt address the topic,” said Pete Ingram-Cauchi, President and CEO of iD Tech Camps, the nation’s largest youth summer technology program. “We’ve been preaching that same sentiment for years and have actually seen the positive effects that programming and video game design can have on students.”
The summer camp uses gaming as a vehicle to build critical thinking skills. Students work with gaming titles like Unreal Tournament® 3 and Half-Life® 2, along with the 3D modeling package Maya®, and game development software from Multimedia Fusion 2 Developer ®.
“Our students want to learn how to create video games—to learn game development skills. But that’s the head fake. Along the way, they gain problem-solving skills and teambuilding skills which are absolutely vital in the tech field.” said Ingram-Cauchi.
Are the days behind us where kids and teens are treated as outcasts for having a keen interest in video games? Probably not. But Mom and Dad can now rest a little easier after spending $50 on a video game. It just might be an investment. And who knows, it might lead to fulfilling the dream of attending Stanford, UCLA or MIT. Or even getting that lucrative dream job. Eric, you still hiring?
###
Written by Ryan Barone
February 11th, 2010 | Tags: learn programming, make video games, Summer Camps, video game design camps
Posted in: CEO's Blog, iD In The News
February 5th, 2010 by: Pete
iD Nation,
Last week I received in the mail a box of candy from a student. I was moved by the hand-written card, the thoughtfulness of the gift, but also the reminder that what we do (run summer computer camps for kids) changes lives, one student at a time.
Braden attended our Villanova University location and took a course that is now titled Adventures in Programming – a course that is fun and great for summer learning. He really excelled and he has a very, very bright future.
Braden – I personally want to thank you for the card and the candy. I really love the card. Your grammar and spelling and penmanship are really, really top notch. And the picture of the computer that you drew is really cool too. Thanks for taking the time to write me. You made my day. And my week. And I am so glad you enjoyed our summer camp!
Thank you!
Pete
PS, the i in “iD” and T in “Tech” fell off the bottom part of the card, but that makes it even cooler!
February 5th, 2010 | Tags: computer camps, PA summer camps, Summer Camps, villanova computer camp
Posted in: CEO's Blog
January 27th, 2010 by: Pete
On the heels of the 2009 summer camp season, our team huddled together in our office in Silicon Valley and we hit on a major theme moving forward. 2009 was a tough year for many companies–and this was true for lots of camps out there–computer camps, sports camps, any type of summer camp, really. We fared better than most. Some camps are no longer standing. We’re still standing–and we might say, thriving. And we’re appreciative.
We made a little money. We tightened the belt while still running amazing camps. But we still had this feeling that we wanted to take our company to a whole new space. We thought, “We worked hard to survive the Great Recession, so how can we thrive in 2010? What are we going to do differently to take it to another level?”
One of our initiatives? POSITIVELY OUTRAGEOUS SERVICE. Southwest Airlines is one of my favorite companies…and we already have a bit of a whacky culture anyways. So, we stole the POS acronym from them. (Full disclosure.) But I cannot expect my staff to provide POS if I don’t live it myself. Today, I made Cuban coffee for the team and went around the office with a cart.
That's me, serving my Client Service manager.
We don’t want to feel good about what we’re doing. We want to feel great about it. Most of our moms, dads, campers and staff know that we have a passion for service, but we always think we can do better. In this case, I think my team was excited about the fact that I would go out of my way to make them coffee, and serve it to them personally. They didn’t ask for it, and didn’t expect it. And that’s the basis for how we define POS.
It looks staged, but they truly loved the coffee.
OK, back to POS. Here are some things we already do. We’ve been doing things this way since iD was born. It’s just part of our DNA:
- We don’t have a phone tree. When you call us up, our benchmark is to pick up the phone within 3 rings.
- I personally don’t have an office. I sit with the client services group. It keeps me in the know, and close to our clients. It allows me to listen, and to act fast.
- When a client emails us, I expect the email to get answered the same day. Max 24 hours.
- Out at camp, we expect personalized diplomas from our staff.
- We expect our summer staff to assist with luggage for our overnight campers.
- We expect our technology instruction to be energetic, informative, and unlike anything the students have done before.
These are simple examples of some of our current expectations–and things we do very well already.
So, where do we want to go this year? Here’s what Positively Outrageous Service means to us:
- We know we want to routinely perform “the unexpected.” (Think delivering coffee at 3 PM on a random afternoon!)
- We want people to talk about our organization and our brand. (The CEO of iD made coffee and carted it around!)
- We don’t want to pre-define POS in concrete terms. It limits our creativity. (What will I come up with next?)
- We do, however, want to illustrate samples of POS for our internal departments and summer staff, so individuals can visualize what the possibilities are.
- We want our employees to feel empowered to deliver POS–to take some risks and have fun along the way. (It was fun today. It gave people a reason to laugh.)
- POS can come in many forms, but the bottom line is to thrill the client in new and unexpected ways. (It is OK to thrill your employees too!) Sometimes it might cost a few dollars to make a client happy. But it is not about money. Is is about going the extra mile on behalf of the client or camper–and not treating them like another number or commodity.
POS, to us, is something that comes to our team naturally. It doesn’t bend us in unnatural ways. We can only deliver POS if we already have a strong culture of service–and if all the people in the company “get it.” So, be careful who you hire! We have an awesome foundation already. The team has to want it, and understand it. And be smart enough, and sensitive enough, to deliver it.
I am meeting with my client service group weekly to ask each individual how they have delivered POS. I want to see the proof. I want the stories. And I want people to talk about us. This attitude extends out to our summer camps as well. The spirit of service is partly why we survived 2009, and will thrive even more in 2010. A lot of companies talk about great customer service. Most of it is blah blah blah, right. Truly, few companies get it. We do.
And, if you have any doubts about POS, please remember this. You can always call Captain Curry. The Captain heads up our Client Services group. Really. Don’t believe me? Give us a call. We’ll pick up in 3 rings or less. If we don’t, I owe you a coffee!
Hope to see you out at camp!
Sincerely,
Pete I-C
Captain Curry delivers POS
January 27th, 2010 | Tags: computer camps, summer camp, Summer Camps
Posted in: CEO's Blog, Summer Camps
November 23rd, 2009 by: Pete
Hello iD Nation,
I just received this message through facebook. This is what it’s all about! We talk a lot about how our summer camps develop technical skills for the future. This is proof you don’t need to wait until college to start putting those skills into action. This is awesome stuff and certainly worthy of a “do something big” story. FYI, the letter says “Thanks to you, Pete…” but I cannot and will not take credit for our awesome tech camps. The success of our programs is dependent on the people on our team. Thanks to everyone who has made our summer camps in New Jersey, and our camps across the country, a success.
Enjoy!
-Pete
——————–
Subject: Thanks to IDTech Camp, Co. hires 9 yr old website developers
Thanks to you, Pete!
This summer, fresh out of 3rd grade, our twins R. and S. (names withheld for security) learned enough in your website development/game development course to develop a website for a local company and got paid enough to pay for their tuition next summer! (Their goal!)
No, it was not a relative or friend, it was a real client! We told them if they wanted to take classes in game development, they would have to earn the $ to pay for it…and they did! We are attaching a picture of them with their clients and first paycheck. They also negotiated a website maintenance contract…ongoing $$$!
If I were you, I would advertise in our area of PA. Ours were the only kids at Rider College from our area, we found you only by accident, and there is a lot of interest in this type of class here. If you need any help promoting IDTech camp in this area, we would love to help you (for free). All parents should know about a camp their kids like so much they are willing to to learn enough to pay their own tuition!
Gratefully,
H. & L. (Parents’ names withheld for confidentiality)
——————–
We’ve got our summer camps in PA at Carnegie Mellon University and Villanova University. Please check the availability of our courses at these locations. And, thanks for spreading the word. This is what it’s all about!
-Pete
November 23rd, 2009 | Tags: game development, summer camps in pa, website development
Posted in: CEO's Blog, do something BIG
November 19th, 2009 by: Pete
A colleague of mine just sent me a link from the Canadian Press. Most people in the U.S. know we host our summer technology camps at the top universities in the country – Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Princeton, UCLA…
As we begin our expansion into Canada, it is interesting to get a lay of the land. Here’s a quick read on some of the top schools in Canada. We’ve launched iD Tech Camps at the University of Waterloo. We’ve also launched the iD Visual Arts Academy at McGill University.
The Canadian Press
Date: Thursday Oct. 8, 2009 5:55 PM ET
TORONTO — The prestigious Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings are out and 11 Canadian universities have made the Top 200 list.
Six Canadian universities have even advanced in their standings over the previous year’s list, with Montreal’s McGill University ranking the highest at number 18.
McGill, which is the only Canadian university in the top 20, was also one of the six Canadian institutions that advanced in its ranking this year over last year’s list.
The University of Toronto was the next highest on the list at number 29, improving from 41st spot last year, while the University of Alberta made a huge leap from 74th spot last year to number 59 this year.
The universities of Waterloo, Calgary and Western Ontario also moved up on the list, with Calgary soaring from 170 to 149.
The other Canadian schools that made the grade were UBC, the Universite de Montreal, Queen’s, McMaster and Simon Fraser.
So, rest assured, when you attend one of our summer programs in Canada, you’ll have the peace-of mind-in knowing that your are not only learning great technologies–but you are doing so at an institution of prominence not only in Canada, but also the rest of the world.
Have a great day!
-Pete
November 19th, 2009 | Tags: computer camps in canada, summer camps in canada, top universities in canada
Posted in: CEO's Blog, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Summer Camps
November 2nd, 2009 by: Pete
Dear iD Nation,
I want to personally welcome you to the iD Family. To our returning families, I know you’ve been looking forward to our 2010 launch. Yesterday we started taking registrations at 8 AM, and the phones were ringing busily all day. That’s a good sign! We had a banner year in 2009, so we think 2010 will be even better.
An obvious question many families are asking is “What’s New?” I am going to cut and paste some content from our “What’s New” page on our website:
- Digital Catalog – Our summer camp catalog is now available.
- Registration is now live! – Register with our latest promotion and save $100 by 12-15-09. And when you refer-a-friend, you now save $50 and your friend does too!
- New Locations – New prestigious university locations including the campuses of Harvard, Princeton, Adelphi, Bentley, the expansion of our Teen Academies nationally, and our expansion into Canada.
- New Courses at iD Tech Camps – Awesome new courses include iPhone® App Development, Digital Photography & Photoshop®, RPG Game Design & Graphic Arts Hybrid, Game Modding with titles including Warcraft® III, Starcraft®, Half-Life® 2 and more. Go to courses and programs.
- Expansion of our Teen Academies – The iD Programming Academy has expanded to MIT. The intensive game development program, the iD Gaming Academy has expanded to Chicago and Seattle. We’ve also launched the new iD Visual Arts Academy. The Teen Academies are for ages 13-18.
- iD 365 – Endless Summer – Upon registration at iD, you now get access to our monthly FREE online workshops, taught year round by live instructors. More.
- Receive Continuing Education Units from Villanova University or Stanford Continuing Studies. Details.
- The iD Guarantee – We average 6 students per instructor at iD Tech Camps. If we exceed an 8:1 ratio, you get to return for a free week of camp at equal value. It’s that simple! It’s iD quality. And it’s only at iD! Note: Not valid for Teen Academies. Get details.
- New Games – Hot new commercial gaming titles used in our gaming courses, gaming tournaments and Ultimate Gaming Weekends.
- Learn Valuable “Life Skills” – We’re building new life skills content for this year. The curriculum will round out the summer experience. See the benefits of iD. We’ve also got fun new camp activities for students.
- Technology Isn’t Just for Boys – We’ve created more courses and modules that are be appealing to girls including Web Design & Flash® Animation, Graphic Design, Video Editing & Special Effects, Digital Photography & Photoshop and the new teen-only iD Visual Arts Academy.
- Go Green – We continue our iD Greening initiative by promoting carpooling, reducing travel and energy consumption and establishing new outreach partnerships in the communities we serve.
- The Basement. For Students Only! – Find out what the buzz is about. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Blogs. Student Project Uploads. Camp Photos. iD 365. And more. Head down to the The Basement!
OK, I’m back. As you can see, we’ve been a bit busy preparing for this launch. You might expect that we kick back and take a few months off in the Fall, but nothing could be further from the truth. We’ve got the hardest working crew in the summer camp industry. We’ve had teams working round the clock to pull all the pieces together…working with new locations (including the expansion of our Teen Academies and a push into Canada), developing curriculum, developing back-end applications, signing contracts, overhauling our website, developing content, designing our camp brochure, working with new corporate partners, creating new courses, and so much more.
The launch is a big, big, team effort, and it is a sign of our company’s organization and dedication to providing the very best.
On behalf of all our employees, we want to welcome you to the new camp season. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to look around our website. And, as always, we’re just a phone call away.
Best,
Pete Ingram-Cauchi
CEO, iD Tech Camps
November 2nd, 2009 | Tags: 2010 summer camp, computer camps, Summer Camps
Posted in: CEO's Blog, Summer Camps
April 23rd, 2009 by: Pete
iD Nation,
We’re rounding the corner to Summer 2009. Our camps are thriving right now, and interest is at an all-time high for our summer computer camps. But what makes a camp unique? What makes iD Tech Camps unique? SImply put: It’s people. Check out a few of the cool photos from a few of the very cool and creative people that are responsible for bringing iD Tech Camps to you.
A company that celebrates its employees is a company that thrives.
From our team of Regional Managers, Client Services Representatives, Admin folks, Field Services, IT and Marketing…the best team in the camp business is counting down the days until summer. We are ready for an amazing summer. Climb aboard!
-Pete
April 23rd, 2009 | Tags: computer camp, computer camps, summer camp, Summer Camps
Posted in: CEO's Blog, Summer Camps
