Amanda M. Usher | The Valdosta Daily TimesJose Cruz, Echols County High School senior, looks for feedback from his team Friday during Operation Code at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College's Geekfest. 

VALDOSTA — Students took their learning out of the classrooms Friday and onto the campus of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College as they stepped into Geekfest. 

Wiregrass led 1,000 high school students and 400 middle school students through various sessions in Lowndes Hall.

Visitors came from the City of Valdosta and Lowndes, Lanier, Cook, Brooks, Clinch, Echols, Thomas, Berrien and Atkinson counties.

They took part in Girls Who Code, motion capture and a virtual reality interactive activity.

John Patten guided students through a green-screen demonstration while Andy Powell hosted Geek Wars, an augmented reality “Star Wars” game.

There were more tech-savvy programs explored while students could learn about other courses such as culinary arts and criminal justice.

Home-school students Jocelyn Neal and Essence Menefee – both dual-enrolled at Wiregrass – agreed their favorite session was the cosmetology freestyling activity, a blindfolded hairstyle competition led by Leigh Ingra.

“It was interesting, very funny,” Menefee said.

Neal echoed her sentiment.

She attends Geekfest yearly and said she always has a new experience. The event provided her with more available options.

About 49 students from Echols County High School attended the event.

Zena Born, Echols County business education teacher, has visited Geekfest three times. She said its for students, as well as adults.

“I enjoy it. I love to see my students engaged in the activities,” she said. “I love that they’re getting this exposure to all the different majors that (they) have to offer, and personally, I just like to come, as well.”

Being educated on the various technological careers could be beneficial, she said, adding she believes everyone should have the ability to function in a technical world.

“I think all of the things that are offered here, everybody should have some exposure to,” Born said. “With the ever-changing technology, I just feel like everybody should have that exposure and whether they pursue it as a career or not, I think it’s great.”

Visit wiregrass.edu to learn more about its technology programs.