My name is Amy, and I am a mentor at MakerKids. This is me.
(My co-worker from YMCA Camp Chief Hector is on the left and I'm on the right! We had just spent a day canoeing the Red Deer river in Alberta, and somehow our lunch break turned into a mud party.)
If I could use one word to describe myself, it would be zesty. If I could use two words, it would be extremely Amy. What does that mean? I am a very passionate, devoted person, who doesn't like things -- I love things or I don't particularly care about them. So when I recently graduated from Humber college, I desperately pursued a career in something I could be deeply passionate about -- things like working with kids, developing businesses, all aspects of creativity, presenting with drama, and developing any sort of tech skills I could get the resources for. For a while I thought that this dream could never happen. What sort of place could possibly encompass this wide variety of things?
And then I found MakerKids.
When I saw the job posting, my original thought was, "This is probably some sort of elaborate scam designed specifically for me." As it turns out, MakerKids is real, and lives up to my unrealistic expectations. Even as I walked in for my job interview, I remember being awed with the space - spacious classrooms, big skylights and windows, display cases full of ranges of amazing things related to minecraft, robotics and coding -- not to mention drawers and drawers of the coolest components and tech imaginable!
More than the space though, I was impressed with the staff of MakerKids. Every single staff member and I are very similar because we are all extremely passionate. We are all pursuing our dreams, and trying to help others make their paths or on their way to their dreams. I love that we have this similarity, but we all have many differences, and it helps make us strong. Jenn, our C.E.O., has an entrepreneurial spirit and is not only full of ideas to make MakerKids better, she is also more than willing to listen to any ideas the staff have, as well as any ideas any you readers have! (Contact at : info@makerkids.com) Danielle, in charge of administration, is one of the friendliest people I have ever met, and she helps with every aspect of our operations I can't imagine this place without her. And then we have our amazing mentors. Galen, not only is he a robotics expert, he always has a smile on his face and wise words to say for any situation! Graham, who I would personally use as a lifeline if I went on any single game show, and who is the MakerKids resident genius. Miranda, an extremely creative maker who can help you design and make practically anything, digital, or physical, and whose patience and insightful ideas will make you think of things you would never dream of!. Thomas, an extremely radical, large personality who will not only make you laugh, but teach you something complicated while doing so. And last but not least, Trevor, an inspired maker who not only makes things look easy, but can help anyone understand how to break down big projects into doable steps!
Lastly, I think the thing that I love most about MakerKids, is the kids. A special brand of kids choose to be MakerKids. They are inspired by technology. They want to meet like minded people. They don't want to just be consumers, they want to create things! Unlike other facilities like us, our focus is on teaching kids technical skills so that they can use their own creativity to solve problems and invent new things -- because they are the future of our world, and we want it left in capable hands. Makerkids also differs from a lot of other facilities as we focus on soft skills like friendship, leadership and conflict resolution. At MakerKids it's easy to become inspired, and we also reassure everyone to not be afraid to fail - when you fail, you learn what went wrong and try again! Failure is just an opportunity to learn more. All in all, I think every kid, and maker, should experience a place that helps them grow, like MakerKids!
We're always looking for more inspiring Maker Mentors. Learn more about us and our positions here.