I know I’m going to sound old with my blog this morning, but I can live with it if you can!

How many times have you been stumbling around technology and found yourself amazed at what kids are learning in school today?  I remember years ago,  my 15 year old niece teaching me a few short cuts in Power Point!  Well, this week I asked another “niece”, Michelle Abrams, the daughter of good friends, to show me a few of the images she’s been working on in her Digital Art and Design class.  Keep in mind, she’s 16 and a junior at Wellesley High School outside Boston.

I was blown away by the ad/magazine cover she created.  “Firebird” was an assignment.  The assignment was to create an advertisement for an event that was happening in the community.  The students had two days to do the assignment and Michelle worked on her concept for 4-5 hours, using Photoshop CS3,  until she had the look she liked.  She made the choice on design elements, fonts, colors, even the stock image - just like an art director would do.

firebird copy

While so many of us, as adults, struggle with the constant change in technology, how incredible is it to be reminded that kids are exposed to this stuff every day?   What’s Michele’s skill set going to be like ten years from now?   She’s grown up with technology that most of us didn’t get exposed to until we were well into being an adult, or at least expected to act like one!

In every school system across the country there are challenges with budgets and the first things cut are the extra-curricular activities.   From the yearbook to the football team every program is in jeopardy.   So, if you’re looking for a way to get involved in your community, why not volunteer to work with the local school system.   And here’s the return on your investment – helping a group of high school kids to understand photography just might uncover somebody like Michelle to help you understand Digital Art and Design.  You might have a terrific design resource right in your own backyard!