DETROIT (WXYZ) — A new program in Detroit is taking something kids already love—video games—and turning it into a foundation they can build a future on.
Watch Faraz's video report below
Detroit PAL has partnered with Accelerate 4 Kids, a Detroit-based nonprofit, to offer a Roblox Game Design class. The program is funded with nearly $90,000 in grants from Apple and Microsoft.
When I visited the classroom, 12-year-old Dwayne Solomon was ready to show me how to make video games.
"I was just waiting to show you how to do basic stuff you can do on Roblox Studio," Solomon said.
I asked him if he could just play Roblox instead of building it.
"Yeah, but I just feel like you'll feel more accomplished if you just make one," Solomon said.
Solomon and his friends are in the class with a plan.
"If you make a game, it can either become unpopular or popular. If it becomes popular, you just feel good — and you can also get paid for it," Solomon said.
Instructors Ayeisha Shehryar and Zakar Smith say there are no prerequisites for the program.
"Especially with Roblox — it's 3D design and game design at the same exact time. It's problem-solving and critical thinking at the same exact time," Smith said.
"The end goal is for the students to have fun and hopefully find a career that they like. There was a student who was in high school and created a game and it paid for his college," Shehryar said.
I asked Smith if it was too late for me to get into Roblox.
"It's never too late," Smith said.
Detroit PAL's Manager of Programs and Enrichment, Kira Borum, knows exactly what a program like this can mean for the youth.
"It not only allows them to enjoy the game as a player, but it allows them to enjoy the game as a creator. And that opens up a world of freedom for them too, going forward," Borum said.
Borum joined PAL as a 9-year-old cheerleader. Now at 27, she is an advocate for the nonprofit.
"It has been really beautiful to come back kind of full circle to being in this role where I'm helping put in place programs that didn't exist when I was there," Borum said.
Detroit PAL has been helping Detroit kids find their greatness since 1969. The nonprofit partners with the Detroit Police Department to empower the youth, and its alumni include Jemele Hill, Chris Webber, and Jalen Rose.
Director of Community Engagement David Greenwood is a PAL kid himself.
"The secret sauce of Detroit PAL is the relationship that we have with our police officers," Greenwood said.
I asked Greenwood why he thinks that relationship is important.
"Our kids are learning that police officers are people too, first and foremost. And the officers get a chance to really put a name behind the people in the community that they serve," Greenwood said.
I asked Solomon how grateful he is for this class and what he would do if it didn't exist.
"I honestly would be mad. I just really wanted to learn how to code," Solomon said.
Detroit PAL is currently working on launching more of these programs for kids.
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