Daniel Rivers, 13, a Griffith Middle/High School student, said he was not too eager to participate in a two-week-long Kids College at Indiana University Northwest in Gary.
“I didn’t want to,” he said Thursday from the IUN campus, where he was participating in the Geek Squad Academy hosted by Best Buy. The academy takes place over two days during the Kids College program. Best Buy’s Geek Squad hosts the academies at locations across the country.
The Geek Squad Academy introduces participants to various forms of technology by allowing them to create their own stop-motion film, music recording and 3-D design and learn how to code by programming a small robot to move, among other things, Orlando Gonzalez, event manager for Best Buy Geek Squad Academy.
From left, 21st Century student Miranda Jackson 10, Hammond Academy of Science and Technology student Nora Lopez, 10, and Aquinas Catholic Community School student Joy Buckley, 11, plan and assemble Lego bricks during a stop-motion animation session at the Best Buy Geek Squad Academy event on Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
“It’s been really fun. Now I’m into it,” Rivers said.
He particularly enjoyed the recording component and the stop-action filmmaking. The teen said he loves music and is comfortable behind a camera and now he has learned that he could potentially make a career out of it.
“I’ve been recording my whole life. With my family, I was always the cameraman,” Rivers said.
Hammond Academy of Science and Technology student Nora Lopez, 10, operates a camera as she participates in a stop-motion animation workshop at the Best Buy Geek Squad Academy event at Indiana University Northwest on Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
Kids College so far has been an opportunity for the kids to show people you can make it without your parents by your side, he said.
Rivers is one of more than 75 sixth, seventh and eighth graders from Lake and Porter counties participating in the free program that combines curriculum with activities designed to introduce middle school students to the college experience, Sarah Gawel, director of the Kids College, said.
Students follow a study path in one of five disciplines, all focusing on how to raise awareness about or address issues of drinking water quality and access in the city of Gary. The session includes activities such as a visit to the Indiana Dunes and Lake Michigan to learn about its and help clean up.
Griffith Middle/High School student Daniel Rivers, 13, listens during a robot programming session during the Best Buy Geek Squad Academy event at Indiana University Northwest on Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
Jamie Lee Dumas, 11, a student at St. Mary Catholic School in Crown Point, was also enjoying the Kids College and Geek Squad Academy.
“It’s really fun,” she said.
Her favorite part of the academy was learning about 3-D printing and getting to design things like components for a home. A small 3-D printer was running a design as students created their programs to show participants how the printing process would work.
Jefferson Elementary student Ismael Orozco, 10, uses a tablet-based sequencer to make music during the Best Buy Geek Squad Academy event at Indiana University Northwest on Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
Dumas said it got her thinking.
“Can we make some of these bigger so we can build real homes?”, she asked.
She also enjoyed the opportunity to make a her own “Lego”-style movie with her team, despite an unexplained malfunction that made the group have to start fresh.
Best Buy Geek Squad Academy instructor Justin Meyers, on left, helps Griffith Middle/High School student Daniel Rivers, 13, program a robot to navigate a maze during Best Buy Geek Squad Academy at Indiana University Northwest on Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
“We don’t know we happened,” she said. “We still finished it.”
Gonzalez said the Geek Squad Academy introduces the students to various technologies using free software platforms so they can continue to use it on their own computers or smartphones. Participants receive a memory stick of their movies and recordings to share with their families.
This is the second year for the program at IUN and Gawel said it is growing. For many of the participants, who may become the first generation of their families to attend college, the Kids College is a way to introduce them to the college environment in a fun way.
A robot programmed to run a maze by local students navigates a corner as part of a session at the Best Buy Geek Squad Academy event at Indiana University Northwest on Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
“They get to explore fields of study of their choice,” she said. At the end of the program, participants will share what they learned in their field of study with a presentation at Friday’s commencement.
