2018-Oct-04

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Making Swords and Dragons — and a World of Difference

BY MARK ROGERS · IT DATA ANALYST · UNITED STATES

Mark with some of the kids he was privileged to spend the week serving during Maker Camp.

Exposing kids to technology and hands-on projects can change the trajectory of their careers. But exposing kids to passionate and loving adults who provide attention and support can change the trajectory of their lives.

Time2Give

Cisco gives every employee five paid days per year to volunteer with any cause using Time2Give (or Volunteer Time Off) instead of using Paid Time Off.

Since this awesome policy was instituted a couple years back, I have been searching for a realistic and meaningful opportunity to utilize the hours. Working at Maker Camp this year was the perfect opportunity!

The River Maker Camp

The River Church Community, my church in San Jose, hosts two Maker Camps every summer. For two weeks, 180 kindergarten through 8th grade youth come together to make hands-on projects, experience the love, care, and affirmation of the leaders, and learn about our faith.

Many of the students are from low-income backgrounds and receive scholarships to attend. I signed up to volunteer with the 5th to 8th grade students and was entrusted with a group of eight boys. From the moment I met my group, I knew I was in for a high-energy and exciting week.

The whole clan – Group Pascal.

Five Days of Making

Each day, my kids and I went to a different station where station leaders facilitated projects that were custom-designed after months of preparation.

We built Trash Amps by turning a mason jar or soda can into a speaker and guitar amplifier, and we created an LED light stick that lights up with six functions including by volume, frequency, temperature, and vibration. We created stop-motion videos using iPads.

Many of the materials for these projects were donated by Sierra Circuits.

We made a programmable LED necklace that you program frame by frame in a custom-built web app.

The kids could re-program the necklace at home with the web app.

We 3D printed keychains and laser cut wood to create swords and dragons.

Three of our five projects involved soldering many different parts, such as microprocessors and LEDs to circuit boards. I was amazed by the creativity and skills of these kids. At the age of 11, I only remember playing soccer, Roller Coaster Tycoon, and chess, not building LED necklaces or converting trash into speakers.

The Impact on Students

The kids absolutely loved the projects and were amazed by the technology they experienced. They were all very proud of their amazing creations and their confidence grew each day. One student even told me that he now wants to become a mechanical engineer.

At the end of the week, I had eight middle school boys tackling me screaming "Thank you!” and “We love you!” at the top of their lungs. My face smashed against the ground, ears pierced by squeals, arms and legs crumpled by 500 pounds of affection. I felt like I had won the World Series with a walk-off home run.

Each leader wrote a specific letter to each student based on the character traits they noticed throughout the week. Many of the kids have never heard an adult support and encourage them personally, and I was grateful for the opportunity to speak positively about each boy in my group.

The Impact on Me

I learned so much and loved the whole week. I was challenged and stretched to notice the little things.

As an extrovert, I am not always the most perceptive. While watching the kids work on their projects, I tried really hard to ask myself: “What do I see in each student that I can encourage in them? Perseverance? Friendliness? Patience?”

I am still not a natural “noticer,” but I think this practice will help me be a better co-worker, husband, and friend if I continue to try and notice the little things and express my appreciation others.

I also now know the basics of how to build a circuit board, solder, and 3D print.

The Impact on Cisco

Thanks to Cisco for giving me this amazing opportunity to serve my community, I'm inspired and invigorated to give my all every day at work and let the creative juices flow. I'm excited to explore the maker labs that we have at Cisco where we design Internet of Everything gadgets and inventions.

I'm eager to inspire more people to get involved in their community, however they can.

Now I'm back in the office, sitting at my desk, and I will miss each of the boys in my group. But I have put up a picture of them to remind myself to pray for them and hung up the LED necklace to remind me of the wonderful Maker Camp experience.

I am also taking a conscious effort to strive to be a “noticer” of the good around me every day. I am grateful for the opportunity Cisco gave me to positively impact my community.