Wednesday, June 6, 2019 | Pixar Workshop at Golden State Prep | by Lisa Landry, IGNITE Advisor
On Wednesday, June 6, 2019, 55 6-11th Graders from Aspire Golden State Prep were honored to welcome volunteers from Pixar, Google, and Facebook for a Panel Discussion and Animation Workshop. The girls were not only excited to have guests on our campus, but they were moved and inspired by the stories of our panelist, with 100% of them stating that the workshop increased their interest in the STEM fields.
It was great for the young ladies to not only learn about the different career opportunities at each company but to also be assured that there are many different avenues to entering the tech industry. In addition to a panel discussion, students were led through a step by step course on animation.
The students were able to take their math knowledge and see firsthand how it correlates to animation. Some struggled with the task and some triumphed, however, they all left with the assertion that this is something that they would be working on at home.
On behalf of the students from Golden State Prep, I would like to thank IGNITE Regional Director Amber Zertuche, Pixar Engineer Yun Lien, Pixar Technical Director Holly Lloyd, Pixar Animator Regina Donovan, Google Animator Olivia Huynh, Facebook Animator Sabrina Curry, and 42 Silicon Valley Students Jem Cope and Karynne Black for taking time to volunteer and educate our students. You not only offered them knowledge, but you inspired them and encouraged them in more ways that can be explained.
Here’s what the students enjoyed most:
“It was great to be able to see that math really does apply to the real world. “
“I never thought about animation before now, because I am not great at art, but the panelist helped me see that anything is possible with training.”
“This workshop made me want to look into other roles with tech companies. “
“I’m going to work harder in science.”