To Those Who Took Part In Our Most Recent Career Snapshots Project (Dallas, TX)

April 28, 2020 / Russell Brown, Content Design Lead

April 28, 2020 - 

Part one of two - Taking a moment to thank all those who took part in the Spark 101 Career Snapshots Project in Dallas, Texas.

A little over a week ago, we released a set of 5 Spark 101 Career Snapshots. 

If you haven’t checked them out, what are you waiting for?  Go watch them!  This is a blog; it will be here after you watch them.  You can keep reading, but you have to watch them after.

I must begin by thanking the Toyota USA Foundation.  They funded the project and made it all possible, and Michael M., Manager, Toyota USA Foundation, is a great person with whom to work. He is flexible, hardworking, and even helped identify talent for the Snapshots!  In part two of this blog, I’ll say a little about each Snapshot, but there are a few things to talk about first.

There are 5 videos in this collection of Snapshots.  Each of the videos has a version with Spanish voiceover (so, it’s really a collection of 10 Snapshots.) This is something new for us at Spark 101, but it was cool to add this to our library of resources.  I did rely a lot on my wife, Melissa, and my colleague, Tiffany, for their Spanish help.  I have zero Spanish ability (and my wife will tell you I have limited English ability at times as well), so thanks to you both!

If you have watched our Spark 101 STEM Skills Videos, you know that we film “on location” in factories and offices.  We’ve never used film studios.  It’s part of showing the ‘real STEM problem’ that ‘real STEM professionals’ are solving.  One of the coolest parts of my job is being able to visit places like the Toyota factory in Bodine and see their 3D  laser printer that prints metal or to hang out with Bret and his team at ADF Solutions and learn about how they are helping law enforcement keep us all safe.  Travel can be rough and long, but it’s interesting to see this stuff and learn about the people who do the different jobs.  This Snapshot project was a bit different.  We were filming 20 people from different STEM careers in Dallas-Fort Worth.  It would have taken forever and cost a ton to visit and film each of people on location.  So, for the first time, we used a studio.  It was such an extraordinary experience!  Jon and his team from AMS pictures were outstanding. They are so professional and kind.  If you ever need film and production folks in Dallas, I highly recommend them.

Dealing with a tough crew or limitations with the locations can drive you over the deep end.  But Jon and his team were the most professional and easiest to work with people ever.  As I said to Tiffany about 100 times in 3 days, “They are so nice!”  On top of being so nice, they have an amazing facility and do great work!  The AMS team made it easy for me to keep on track and not have to worry about the little things.  I keep trying to get projects in Dallas just so I can go back and visit.

More to come…..

New to Spark 101?  We created a simple step-by-step guide to show teachers and parents how to use our free resources. We also put together a post specifically about how to use Spark 101 as a distance learning resource.

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