Ezra wanted to grow his tech skills, but didn’t know where to start.
“I’ve always been creative, but I never put it out there that much. I was hiding a lot of it because I didn’t think it was good enough.
I found out about Rêve Academy from my teacher Brianne. She let me do a project for extra credit where I built a computer from scratch. She took the initiative to push us towards Rêve so that we could learn more technical skills. That really benefited me, because I’ve been meaning to learn a lot of this stuff. This internship finally gave me the means to do it.”
I am…
// 19
// Leader, tech guy, creative
// A student at Metro Heights Academy and MCTC
I dream of…
// Becoming a successful video game streamer or content creator
Trying out virtual reality with the Roomera team; collaborating with intern Ashley.
He embodied the value of Collaboration.
“When I started here, I didn’t want any help. I wanted to figure it out on my own. I’m the same way in my personal life—I never asked questions growing up. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t doing so well in school. From being in the streaming community and here at Rêve Academy, I’ve learned that I can just ask for help if I want to try something new. Even the experience of asking will usually teach me something. It’s probably one of the most beneficial things I’ve gotten from Rêve, that collaboration skill.
I’ve also learned how to step back. I’m competitive and I know how I want things to work out, so I can get frustrated when they don’t. But now I’ve learned to take a breath, relax a bit, and try again. Or try something else completely. After a few seconds or minutes, it will usually click.”
Ezra works out a problem with the help of senior intern Anthony and Digiteer Anna.
He built new skills and then applied them to his personal brand.
“Our main project was managing a client’s social media presence. We were doing everything: creating posts, publishing them, looking at analytics. What I learned about social media is the importance of your audience. For example, I use my personal Twitter a lot and I’ve never really had a target audience. I was just spouting off what I thought. Now that I have this perspective that I’m looking for likeminded people—gamers, content creators—I’m trying to target them as my audience. I can figure out what I want to say and offer something they might be intrigued by.
I like to think that my professionalism and confidence have grown a lot. I’m not afraid to try something unusual. I feel like I see my professional skills come out when I’m interacting with higher ups in the streaming community—people that I can learn from, people that I can market myself to. I’ve learned to put my work out there and see what the world thinks.”
See the difference that Rêve Academy makes.
Ezra gained both technical and professional skills in his internship—and he didn’t have to pay a cent. In fact, we paid him a fair wage for his work each week, while he learned:
Professional skills
// Empathy
// Authenticity
// Collaboration
// Achievement
// Ingenuity
// Agility
Technical skills
// Social media management
// Illustrator
// Photoshop
// Project management
// Agile development
Rêve Academy’s student interns of spring 2018.
Help students along their path.
If you have a heart for students, we have a place for you.
Become a digital volunteer and help our interns as they work on real-world projects. Or show our kids what an ordinary day looks like for a working professional. There are lots of ways to get involved, so don’t be shy—we can’t wait to meet you!