Future animators get ahead of the game in high school

This year, technology has become more important than ever.

Fortunately, students in North East ISD are already ahead of the game. 

“They have all this technology in the palm of their hand,” Devin Gee said.

Gee is a 3D animation teacher in the Design and Technology Academy at Roosevelt High School.

This is his second year teaching at DATA.

Many of his students are exploring career avenues in TV, advertising and virtual reality, but the opportunities are endless.

“There’s anywhere from going into video games and being an animator for that. Also doing effects, movies, animated short films and television as well,” Gee explained.

With a background in commercials, indie films, and video games, Gee brings knowledge and industry insight to his classroom. 

“I think it’s pretty cool to have a teacher with a lot of that experience,” Rebekah Deluna said.

Fourteen-year-old Rebekah Deluna is a big anime fan and even wore a character’s hat to prove it.

She grew up watching Disney movies with her siblings and joined the animation class to learn how it’s all done. 

“I think my biggest ambition is probably establishing my own animation studio like Disney or DreamWorks or something,” the DATA freshman said.  

Gee said his time at DATA so far has been very eye-opening.

There are virtual reality headsets, 3D printers and other state-of-the-art equipment at every turn.

“When I was in high school, I didn’t have hardly any of this stuff,” he added.

3D animation is widely seen in entertainment and gaming, but it’s also used in engineering and real estate industries, manufacturing and retail sectors, and in the medical and science fields. 

“Out of high school, I actually plan on becoming an astronomer,” Carlos Ferrer-Benitez said.

Ferrer-Benitez is a freshman at DATA who plans to utilize his animation skills throughout his education. 

“I could just do a 3D model of a sphere, if it’s a planet or a star, and I could basically make a texture of it, render that, and then put it into one of my presentations,” the fourteen-year-old explained.

Gee said this is just another example of how far the education space has grown.  

“We need to make sure that we are including tech in our education and doing so in a way where it’s easy to access and understandable,” he said.

Gee is excited to see his students use technology to push the boundaries on their creativity. 

“Just having that at their fingertips is awesome and allows them to do a lot more and that kind of changes the game and opens up new opportunities for them.”

To learn more about North East ISD’s Design and Technology Academy at Roosevelt High School, click here: https://www.neisd.net/datahs

Those interested may also attend a virtual Zoom information session on Friday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. You can find details here: https://www.neisd.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=2&DomainID=4#calendar1/20201106/event/483087

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