Tekoa High School students taking part in the NexGen Guardians of the Gulf program were recognized during a March event at Port Arthur City Hall. (Mary Meaux/The News)

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A group of NexGen Guardians of the Gulf recently returned from Texas A&M University-College Station after taking part in a special camp.

The 27 local and area students got a peek at the importance of emergency management, its ties to climate change and related career paths.

The students — from Tekoa Academy, West Orange Independent School District and Beaumont Independent School District — attended Camp DASH, which stands for Disaster, Advocacy, Sustainability and Health.

While at the camp the students were able to experience college life, rigorous classroom projects and a sense of what the world offers, Charles X. White of Charity Productions said in a news release.

Charity Productions was awarded a grant and is providing coursework from the National Incident Management System related to disaster management.

The next generation of guardians is a multi-year funded project of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicines.