Ten-year-old Nathaniel Freeman wears many titles—he is a coder and a storyteller.
“I code, I make characters, so I’m working on a miniseries,” he mentioned.
But he is additionally a Lego lover and a Black Panther superfan. “I like his costume, he’s really cool, he’s a king,” Nathaniel mentioned.
And now he can add “teacher” to that checklist after wrapping up a “Superhero Storytelling” workshop together with his dad, USF professor McArthur Freeman II.
“I think it was one way to really reach the kids as well, I mean superheroes are really great to do that but also to have a team, a father and son,” mentioned McArthur.
Over a two-week interval, the duo taught a bunch of middle-schoolers how to mix tech resembling coding, illustrating, and modifying with superhero tales about themselves.
The program was largely aimed toward black and brown kids within the Bay space and in flip, it uncovered them to the world of digital artwork—whereas additionally permitting them to see and create tales that centered on individuals who regarded like them.
“Growing up I remember wanting to see characters that looked like me. I remember trying to learn how to draw and not understanding how to draw our hair because I didn’t see the illustrators that I was looking at, they weren’t doing that and there’s just a lack of that,” mentioned McArthur.
And it is a course that McArthur additionally hopes will spark a ardour for the humanities. That mentioned, instructing full-time might or might not be in Nathaniel’s future.
“I’m thinking of being an astronaut or a game designer,” Nathaniel mentioned.
But what’s clear is that for now, his ardour for sharing his distinctive items with different kids will proceed.
“I’m going to be launching a YouTube channel soon, so you should keep an eye out for that. It’s going to be called ‘Nate Creates,'” mentioned Nathaniel.