CRE8 Labs: Davenport students get a look at different jobs

Tramar Collier showed off his certificate of completion for finishing a two-week program designed to get Quad Cities students interested in various careers. He enjoyed the program, but admits he came very close to not taking the course. “I almost didn’t come here because I thought it would be boring, but my mom made me. […]

Tramar Collier showed off his certificate of completion for finishing a two-week program designed to get Quad Cities students interested in various careers. He enjoyed the program, but admits he came very close to not taking the course. “I almost didn’t come here because I thought it would be boring, but my mom made me. ….  But kids need to attend. Even though it’s summer and you want to just chill, once you’re here, you’ll learn,” the 17-year-old Davenport West High School student said Thursday morning, June 13.

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Tramar was one of 10 students from Davenport Community Schools to attend that summer pilot program called CRE8 Labs.  The program's mission is to immerse high school students in creative disciplines, such as writing, graphic design, audio production and fashion design, and show them what it takes to get a job in those fields. In addition to teaching students lessons about specific fields, there were also lessons in employability skills, financial literacy and entrepreneurship. While the program was meant for high school juniors, other high schoolers were welcomed to the first year of the program. “Hopefully, it will start a spark with the students and they will say ‘Oh, I can do this’ … or maybe they’ll find out this field isn’t for them,” said Cory Holloway, founder and creator of the CRE8 Labs. He added that he hopes the lessons taught in the program will turn “passions into careers” for the students.  The first class of students taking part in the program included Dakota Merideth, Gracie Sade, June Reed, Aryana Maca, Lea Lefebvre, Xavier Berdecia, Cardale Smith Jr., Lidia Perez, Rylee Sexton and Tramar Collier. Mr. Holloway was one of the hosts of a  CRE8 Labs Student Showcase on Thursday morning at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ Urban Campus in downtown Davenport. That event was held to congratulate and thank the 10 students for participating, thank instructors who taught various courses, and thank sponsors, friends and family members who encouraged students to attend. EICC leaders said that while this year’s labs program was a pilot course, they hope to bring it back next year.  If it returns, several students attending this year’s program said they will encourage others to attend. “It might seem boring at first, but it will be fun because you will be learning stuff together with your friends,” said Lea Lefrebvre, 15, a Davenport Central student. During the two-week program, Lea was part of a student team that helped create three podcasts episodes called the CRE8CAST. Those podcast episodes largely focused on the students’ and educators’ experiences with the CRE8 Labs. During Thursday’s showcase event students shared their experiences and received individualized certificates. For instance, Lea’s certificate recognized the student for mastering skills, such as knowledge about careers in writing,  public speaking and writing a script for a podcast. Tramar, who took part in the fashion design part of the program, had a certificate that recognized him for reducing, reusing and repurposing textiles or clothing; learning about natural and synthetic fibers; and creating a project from design and sketch using sewing and embroidery skills. Instructors also got to share their experiences about the program. Many of them said they were impressed with the students and the improvements they made in the fields in only two weeks. One of those instructors was Charlie Honold, president of Riffle, the advertising agency located in downtown Davenport. He taught students lessons on graphic design. “We all learned from each other because there is no one right way to do things. … I hope this helps them think about what they want to do,” he added. Marc Zyla, the director of community engagement with WVIK radio, taught students about making a podcast. He said one of the big lessons the students learned is that it takes “a ton of work” to get a podcast done. But the students were able to do that work and create three episodes and each podcast showed great improvements in the students’ skills, he said. “It was great to see the students get better at it.”  Even though this year’s CRE8 Labs program is over, EICC officials said they hope to see more of the students in the future – especially when it comes time to take classes to train for careers.  EICC Interim Chancellor Liang Chee Wee, in a video message to the students, told them he was proud of them, and he hopes to see them again in EICC classrooms. “We see your potential. We see your talents. … Stay in touch with us,” he added.