Student National Mentors are selected from Cyber School students who excel in their courses, demonstrate passion for their art, assist other students without prompting, communicate clearly, and demonstrate patience in problem solving and assisting others. It is very rare that students are offered such a rich opportunity, for free, based only on their demonstrated passion and ability.
One of the unique Youth Digital Arts beliefs is that all of our youth, your children, have amazing untapped potential. Our youngest Student National Mentor was 9 and he mentored high school students by answering their questions in our student forums. The high school students never knew his age, they just appreciated his assistance.
A Student National Mentorship is a one year commitment where selected students continue working on and sharing their advanced projects and ideas, helping to answer student questions, and participate in our Cyber Studios and Cyber Jams.
We communicate via our Cyber Studios, which Student National Mentors are enrolled in for free, and our Cyber Jams which our Student National Mentors attend and participate in for free. Student National Mentors and advanced students collaborate on research and development projects and assist in brainstorming our next curriculum offerings. The Student National Mentor program is fun and a great experience.
Youth Digital Arts National Fellows are select Student National Mentors who excelled in the program, have graduated high school, and wish to continue working on Youth Digital Arts advanced projects, research, and development. As explained on the Cyber Studios page this is a rare opportunity for select students to gain experience, a rich digital portfolio of advanced projects, national group collaboration, and a letter of reference that sets them apart form their college and university peers.
From the Cyber Studio page:
The Youth Digital Arts Cyber Studios provide a very rare opportunity for advanced students to explore their interests in an open ended space with other students who share their passion for the digital arts. They learn how to collaborate on projects which include research skills, communication skills, presentation skills, and teamwork. These are the skills that companies look for so the Cyber Studios give students another advantage while they are having fun exploring the digital arts.
This article explains what video game development corporations are looking for. While the article specifically discusses video game development it is the same for all of the digital arts.
“Students need to realize that making games is hard, and that it requires patience, persistence and openness,” advises Isbister, who also runs the Social Game Lab at NYU-Poly . “Teamwork is a big part of game development, so being willing to collaborate and able to communicate is valuable.”
“I recommend anyone wanting to get into the games industry to get a gaming education,” reiterates Durall. “Coming out of school with not only the knowledge of how to make games, but also with working examples from your studies, is a huge bonus. With so many other aspiring game designers out there now, you have to get every advantage you can.”