2023 KC Digital Media Academy Career Summit
192 students from ten area academy programs attended this first-ever digital media career conference.
On November 30th, KC IMAGINE and KC Digital Drive hosted the 2023 KC Digital Media Academy Career Summit at the Westport Commons Plexpod. This was the first ever conference of this nature in Kansas City. The purpose of the conference was to help students from KC area academy programs get insights about careers in digital media from KC industry professionals. 193 high school students from 10 area digital media academy programs attended the conference. Participating schools were:
Blue Valley CAPS
Cedar Trails Exploration Center (CTEC) CAPS – Desoto
Cedar Trails Exploration Center (CTEC) CAPS – Mill Creek
Fort Osage High School
Hickman Mills, High School
Northland CAPS
Olathe Northwest High School, KS e-Communication, Graphic Design
Olathe Northwest High School, KS Animation
Summit Tech Academy, Lee’s Summit
Topeka CAPS
Kyle Hamrick of KC Videocore leads a breakout session on Motion Graphics Design.
During the conference, students attended three rounds of breakout sessions in which they could choose between seven presenters on a wide range of topics and disciplines related to digital media such as Careers in Marketing & Promotion, Drone Photography, Preparing Your Portfolio, Careers in AR/VR, and AI and Your Future. All of the sessions were led by area professionals with deep experience in the topics they discussed. Check out the line-up of speakers at this link.
Lisa Blanchard, Student Success Manager, welcomes students to Hollywood Animation Academy’s career fair booth.
The conference was made available at no cost to the schools or students due to the generosity of our sponsors: The Hollywood Animation Academy and the DeBruce Foundation. Both sponsors hosted workshops about their career programs, and they hosted booths at the Career Fair that closed out the conference.
Students were able to meet with digital media instructors and recruiters from area colleges and career organizations during the College/Career Fair event from 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
The Career Fair was offered between 12:30 and 2:00 p.m. and provided students with the opportunity to meet with digital media instructors and recruiters from ten area colleges and with representatives from four career development organizations:
Avila University
DeBruce Foundation
Goodwill/Artemis Institute
Hollywood Animation Academy
Johnson County Community College
Kansas City Art Institute
Kansas City Kansas Community College
Kansas State University
KC Scholars/Great Jobs KC
Park University
University of Central Missouri
University of Kansas
University of Missouri – Columbia
University of Missouri – Kansas City
William Jewell College
Prior to the Career Fair students enjoyed a pizza lunch with snacks and drinks provided through the generosity of the DeBruce Foundation.
Tim McCoy and Dennis Hopeless of Yoodle, present the winning team with their $250 prize for the Branding/Visual Identity Challenge.
During the opening session, Tim McCoy, President and Creative Director at Yoodle, a Kansas City branding agency, presented a $250 award to the winning team in KC IMAGINE’s Branding/Visual Identity Challenge. The team of Aidan Clevenger, Autumn Lacross, Maslyn Lee, and
Emma Reese from Olathe Northwest High School’s e-Communication Graphic program won the prize with their “Gooey” visual identity solution. Accepting the award was Jennifer Zimmerli, their instructor.
Students enjoy a pizza lunch sponsored by the DeBruce Foundation before visiting the booths at the Career Fair.
School leaders and career fair volunteers were enthusiastic about their appreciation for this event. Many expressed the hope that KC IMAGINE and KC Digital Drive will offer this conference again in the future.
A gallery of photos from the event is offered below.
