Vincenty Lucas Jackson is getting valuable experience for his future career before he even starts his first class at Truman College this fall.
As a part of the STEAMbassadors program, the future early childhood education teacher spent the summer learning—and then teaching—digital animation.
“For the first month of the summer, we were learning our materials, understanding our audience, and getting to know our equipment. Then, we got campers and started to teach them to draw, trace over images, make their own characters, and work as a team,” Vicenty said.
STEAMbassadors is a work-based learning opportunity that pays college students to teach free STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) classes to young learners across the city—especially those who might not get the chance to participate in these kinds of projects otherwise.
Vincenty, who graduated from Bogan High School in the spring, starts classes at Truman College this fall, where he is a Star Scholar and a S.E.E.D. Scholar, so his tuition, books, and other expenses are covered. He’s always known that teaching is his path—he’s been the official family babysitter for years, and in eighth grade, he had the opportunity to serve as a teacher’s assistant in a kindergarten classroom. Still, this summer was, in his words, “eye opening.”
“It was so much more advanced than anything I had done before,” Vincenty said. “I was in charge of my own classroom. I was creating a lesson plan, making sure students were staying engaged, and working with a team of other STEAMbassadors.”
As an added bonus, he was able to get acclimated to the Truman College campus and meet other incoming freshman that he’ll soon see in fall classes.
“It was a really enjoyable way to spend the summer,” he said. “I would definitely do it again!”