Team Digital is a summer program at the Kansas City Digital Media Lab designed to help teens pursue their interests and ambitions. Chosen through an application process, selected members are given mentorship and resources to work on individual and collaborative projects for the KCDML.
We are looking for teens to be a part of our 2024 Team Digital program. This is a 6-8 week interactive program with hands-on experience, access to professional equipment in areas such as 3D Printing and making, audio production and graphic arts and Design. Our team members will work on small group and individual projects centered on our theme “Learn, Create, Build and Innovate.” Participants will be able to take full advantage of KCDML’s lab, staff and equipment to create a project of your choosing. A strong candidate will have an interest in being creative, building things from scratch and have an entrepreneurial spirit. Candidates must also work well with a team and most of all, be interested in having fun! If you think you have what it takes, fill out the application below! We hope to see you this summer!
TEAM DIGITAL Summer 2024
Lawson Small
Lawson Small is 15 years of age, and was born and raised in San, Antonio, TX. At the age of five Lawson and his mother moved to Kansas City, Kansas where he made new friend connections. His friend connections showed him new games and hobbies such as; lego marvel, ping-pong, and four square. At the age of twelve, Lawson moved back to Texas, but instead of heading to San Antonio, he and his mother moved to Dallas, TX where he met his best friend. In Dallas, Lawson attended “ Geneva Heights “ for only the fifth grade. At Geneva Heights Lawson got into an altercation where he learned how to assert himself. For his next year Lawson attended sixth grade at J.L. Long where he encountered gangs and more wild interactions. This was another situation that taught Lawson how to navigate through a more rough and wild environment. During the time of COVID-19 Lawson discovered his love for the arts. Where he was introduced to other black artists in the Dallas area. This sparked a creative fire inside of Lawson used to express his emotions through; paintings, sketches, and even comic strips. As well as finding his love for the arts. Lawson, his mother and step-father who Lawson met at the age of five, moved back to Kansas. Instead of Kansas City, Kansas Lawson and his family moved to Kansas City, MO. In Missouri, Lawson enrolled in an African Centered Academy for his seventh and eighth grade year. Now Lawson is fifteen going on sixteen years old, and will be in an Early College Academy at MCC Penn Valley for his tenth through twelfth grade.
Brayisha Avery
Brayisha Avery is a sophomore who loves to play basketball, watch anime, and read. In her spare time, she goes to basketball practice, draws, and collects Figurines. After a long day she usually relaxes by drawing with a cup of tea. She’s Homeschooled and is currently attending MCC-Longview through their dual enrollment program. Her goal is to play Professional Basketball, and get a Masters degree in physical therapy.
Al
Alfred is a 13 year old boy, and he loves to play sports. Alfred loves to play outside and wants to make a better life in our community. Alfred was born on March-11-2011, and he has 2 siblings, and their names are Josiah, and Savannah. What he does in his free time is play games, his top number one game is GTA, and he has all of the people unlocked on GTA. That’s how you know he’s been in that game for so long.
Kaylee Collins
Kaylee Collins is 13 years old. She is going to be an 8th grade student at Brookside Charter School. Kaylee likes to draw in her free time. She also likes to play the drums and is a part of her school drumline. Kaylee’s favorite sport is track. Her favorite race to do is the 800 meter dash. Kaylee wants to participate in the Olympics doing the 800 meter dash. Kaylee joined Team Digital to be able to further expand her knowledge on music and digital art.
Branen Drone
Branen Drone is a twelve year old boy that is homeschooled. He works on his computer and he practices the drums too, he also likes basketball and baseball. In his free time he likes to play video games like Fortnite. Branen used to have a business called: “boy will be boys” but because of covid-19 it stopped but he plans to start it again.
Riley Johnson
Riley is a 14 year old boy who likes to play basketball and soccer. He also loves to dance, and his favorite dance style is jazz. He loves to make food and art. Riley enjoys buffets because of all the different food choices, and loves to paint because you can create things and no one tells you what to do. In his spare time, Riley likes to play Ark. He likes Ark because you can build, and create stuff. Riley joined team digital because you can do all of it but the food, he thinks. He loves animals, and his favorite animal is the penguin.
Jeremiah McNeary (Vex)
Jeremiah McNeary, a 15 year old boy who likes to read fiction books. Ever since Jeremiah was young he wanted to read books just to pass time. He also wanted to understand the words they were saying. He asked his father or google to help him understand the words. As time went on, Jeremiah started to read library books based on science and history while also taking notes about them for his future classes. He’s currently in 10th grade at Raytown High School, still reading and taking notes on everything he learns in all the classes he goes to.
Pillair Johnson (PJ)
Pillair (PJ) Johnson is 14 years of age and is entering his freshman year of high school. Pillair is the oldest of four. He works two jobs, one of the jobs being the digital media program at the Library Southeast branch, and co-owns a business called PZN’s Lawn Service. At 11 years old he became the youngest member of the youth board for the Village KC. What he does in his free time is cook, play football, video games, read books and sketch. PJ likes to chill and mostly hangs out in his room.
Aananzi Lumanyika
Aananzi Lumanyika is a 16, (going on 17) year old artist, and a student of Southeast High School. He’s decided to join Team Digital 2024 to make his summer more active! Outside of Team Digital, not much else happens, other than games, music, drawing, and talking to friends.
TEAM DIGITAL Summer 2023
Khamari Frye likes to play volleyball for fun, she was on the team but rarely got to play. She goes to Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts, and has been there for three years, her major is Art. She is 14 and starting her sophomore year. Khamari was born in Kansas City, has two brother’s and Christopher and Chevy. One thing that’s crazy is she was so addicted to the show “The Rookie” she could not stop watching it. She finished two seasons in 3 days! One thing I want to learn this summer’s how to edit pictures and videos.
KCGPA (Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy) is where Kayla Mitchell goes to school. At 13 years old, she has learned how to play tennis and volleyball, and is learning Spanish and a little bit of Mandarin. As much as she loves sports, fine arts is where her heart is! She likes being independent, but prefers to have someone at her side. Kayla knows how to handle emotions and fix situations since she hopes to become a therapist one day. Kayla has 3 brothers and 1 sister of which she is the oldest. She never hesitates to help someone in need and that is a part of her personality
Candan Colum is going to Center Middle right now. He almost failed the 4th grade because it was on zoom and really did not do any work because it was hard to stay focused. In his spare time Candan loves to play basketball and his favorite player is Stephen Curry. He joined team digital because it gave him something creative to do during the summer.
Solae is a sophomore that attends Lincoln High school. Her big dream is to be a dermatologist and a Registered Nurse. She loves to braid hair, paint and draw. Solae is in love with music, her favorite genre of music to listen to is R&B. Another thing she enjoys doing is babysitting her little sister because it motivates her to be a better person and be a good role model.
Ever since Aiden could remember, he has loved sports. Aiden Ellis is twelve years old and attends Pembroke Hill School. He loves music, building things and most of all, sports! His favorite three sports are baseball, football and basketball. Aiden enjoys listening to Juice Wrld, Sleepy Hollow and Post Malone. As a lover of sports he likes to play video games with his friends such as Madden and NBA 2k.
Mckenzie is a student in Team Digital and this is her second summer in the program. She loves to act, sing and write and that is one of the reasons she is excited to be in this program again. She goes to Center Middle School and will be going into the 8th grade. Since she’s heading into the 8th grade she wants to know herself better. Last summer taught McKenzie more about music than she knew and she’s excited to do it once again. Writing, singing and making more friends is her goal this summer. she really is just happy to be a part of Team Digital again and can’t wait to start working this summer.
Anthony Hampton is a 15 year old student at Paseo Academy of Arts and Music. Anthony likes to play basketball, football and baseball and make music. The reason he joined Team Digital is because he wants to have experiences working with a in a team and be more social.
An upcoming junior at North Kansas City High School, Evan Sandau (known creatively as Carlxs Taymaar) is determined to make an impact on both Team Digital and the world. Despite being in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, Sandau still finds time to create in many forms of art including: music production, choreography, visual arts, and more. Through his position in NKCHS Black Student Union and through his work in Scouting he is active in his community, bringing awareness to issues such as discrimination, police brutality and women’s rights. Sandau hopes that Team Digital will give him a revitalized outlook on his creative process and hopes he can give the same to his teammates. He also hopes that all enjoy the listening party and the team’s final products.
Andre was born into a world of the unknown. However, what he did know is that he could create. Andre likes to work with paint and pencil when being artistic. He has a passion for art and would like to have a career as an Engineer. Currently he attends Crossroads Academy and will be a freshman this fall.
Caleb Hill started writing music when he was 5 years old. He had a small drumset and practiced everyday. Now, he is a freshman who goes to Kansas City Academy and specializes in music and songwriting. He joined Team Digital because it would be a good opportunity, challenging and would be a chance to make new connections.
TEAM DIGITAL Summer 2022
Hadiyah is a 12th grader who attends Paseo Fine and Performing Arts Academy. She loves to travel, debate, write stories and poetry, and act. Hadiyah is a strong black woman who does anything in her power to bring justice into our community and possibly the country. She dreams of becoming a Civil Rights Lawyer and Civil Rights Activist; in order to stop the injustice, and to stop the hatred in Black communities, she also dreams of inspiring young kids to be proud of their skin color so no one can bring them down. In order to accomplish this goal she plans on going to college to earn a Bachelor’s in Political Science, then she will go to Law school to get her law degree. This program will help her to explore her inner-self and what capabilities she holds. Hadiyah has an Idea, and that idea is to bring the Black Communities together as a family, and to fix the wrong system here in America.
Aaiden is going to be a 7th grader next school year at Citizens Of The World. In his spare time he enjoys playing basketball, video games, and also talking with his friends. The reason he joined team digital is because of wanting to be productive, learn more about music and how to make it, he also joined to make new friends. Aaiden enjoys spending time with his family, especially his mother, sister, aunt, and grandpa because they’re the most important people in his life, along with his grandma. Aaiden plans to become a professional basketball player when he grows up. A fun fact about Aaiden Hines is that his favorite basketball player is Ja Morant because even though he’s shorter than a lot of the players he still shows a lot of confidence on the court.
Sam is an 11th grader going on to 12th grade. She attends Raytown High School. She’s a self-taught artist and animator who wants to pursue her goals. She loves to play video games, specifically Pokemon and loves filling up the pokedex. Going for shinies is her objective. The reason why she joined Team Digital is to improve greatly on what she does best. A saying she believes in, “Experience is key, while the lock is my obstacle, throughout the dungeons, there’s only one chest.” She wants to become a successful animator and produce her own show so that the world can see through her eyes.
Ricky is going to be a 7th grader next school year. He likes to play games, make art, and science. He has two sisters and one older brother. The reason Ricky joined Team Digital was to learn more about teamwork and technology, such as music. Ricky does not know what career path he wants to take yet but he does want to attend college.
Mckenzie is a 6th grader going to the 7th grade. She goes to Center Middle School. Her favorite animal is a snow tiger and she has five pets. She loves to help people with what she can. Her favorite sports are volleyball and Basketball. She wants to go to school for clinical and counseling psychology or become a teacher to help people learn about our world. The reason why she joined Team Digital was to pursue her dreams of becoming a singer for people to like and listen to.
Aiden is a 6th grader who attends Pembroke Hill School. He loves sports, especially Baseball, Football and basketball. Aiden also enjoys making music and learning more about technology, specifically music production. He always has fun when he is hanging out with his friends and family. When he gets older he wants to be a professional Baseball or Football player.
Check out our Team Digital member from previous years!
TEAM DIGITAL Summer 2021
Elias
Elias is a 7th grade student at Central Middle School. He has two younger siblings and two pets at home. He enjoys reading, science, and helping people in the community. He also enjoys going outside, playing football and hanging out with his friends. He is excited to learn more about technology and programming.
Monet
Monet is a 12th grader who attends Crossroads Preparatory Academy. She loves the Kansas City Chiefs. She enjoys nature, going on adventures, traveling the world, and hanging out with her friends and family. She is also a social justice advocate and uprising social activist worker in the Kansas City Area. She is excited to work with Team KCDML this summer and can’t wait to get her hands on podcasting and team building, as well as working in the studio. Monet wants to attend college. Her dream colleges include Tusculum university or any HBCU. She is still deciding between lepidopterology, nursing, psychology, or traveling during college. Monet loves music and engaging with people around her city. When she graduates she strives to be perceived as a leader, game changer and innovative thinker.
Victoria
Victoria is a 12th grader who attends St. Teresa’s Academy in Kansas City, MO. She has been interested in music and video since she was in the second grade. During her sophomore year, she decided to start making her own music because she didn’t like working with pre-made music. She has a lot of creative ideas in her head which she would love to make a reality. Victoria’s goal is to make a song and cover art all from scratch, start to finish, includes writing the song, creating the backing tracks, recording the song, taking shots for the cover art, playing around with the design, and creating something she is very proud of. She thinks that the KCDML will help give her that final push she needs to create her own music, along with making a video and cover art. After high school, Victoria plans on attending college in Los Angeles, California majoring in Music Video Production and minoring in Business.
Darian
Darian is an 8th grader at Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, MO. He has always been interested in technology since a young age. At the age of 8, he started coding and at the age of 10, he started working with hardware and 3D modeling. He loves his family, including his 10 year old dog, Villy. When not at school, you can find him playing video games, working with technology, or studying German. His goal this summer is to work at the KCDML and learn a little more about everything. He plans to pursue a higher education after high school, get a job in IT, and travel around the world to experience more cultures.
Egypt
Egypt Moore is a 12 year old student at Kansas City Girls Academy Preparatory Academy. She loves to do her hair, nails, cook and design clothes. When she grows up, she wants to be a hairstylist and a nail technician. At home, she has five sisters and two cats. By joining Team Digital, she hopes to learn about 3D printing, video production and fashion design.
Ja’Mauri
Ja’Mauri is a 10th grader who attends De La Salle High School in Kansas City. He enjoys learning history and playing basketball. After high school, Ja’Mauri plans to go to college for culinary arts at Morgan State University. By joining Team Digital he hopes to learn more about RC cars and meet new people.
TEAM DIGITAL Summer 2020
Syriah
Syriah Sanders is a sophomore at Raytown Highschool. When not at school, she finds enjoyment in baking desserts. Two years ago she played a role as an anchor in the PBS Newshour Student Reporting Lab. During that time she gained experience working with different video production equipment, but her favorite thing to do was being in front of the camera. Syriah enjoyed being the personality of the project. She interviewed her fellow peers about bullying and the importance of participating in a maker space like the KCDML. Syriah also takes pleasure in fashion and design, styling clothes and putting outfits together to make a good statement. A strength that she has is that she is willing to try new things and meet new people. Five years from now she sees herself continuing her education at a HBCU.
Kaelon
Kaelon DeVine has been interested in the hair world since her younger days. Growing up, her mother was a cosmetologist and had her own shop. She began to take hair seriously at the age of 14 by doing her own and also looking for potential clients. A few years later she began her own business. Education has always been a strong suit even though she had to change schools due to frequently moving. Known for her drive and ambition, Kaelon recently started a jewelry business as well. In her middle school years on to high school, DeVine was accepted into AVID, which is a college readiness program. During high school she was also a part of becoming the first National Demonstration school for AVID. As a stylist, Kaelon has had experience working a regular job, but she enjoys being her own boss. She finished her high school education a year early and is planning to attend cosmetology school for her senior year. Five years from now Kaelon wants to have her own studio, working with other stylists and holding braiding classes.
Devaughnte
Devaughnte Dodds has always been interested in robotics and design. Since the 3rd grade he has been actively learning to make. Devaughnte Dodds graduated from Nowlin Middle School with principal’s honors. He has learned multiple mediums of design from digital work like Tinkercad to physical work like soldering. He is hardworking and dedicated to his crafts. Devaughnte has recently been working with the raspberry pi (a micro computer) and emulation software. He experiments with many types of creative mediums. A strength he has is he works well alone as well as in a small groups. In seven years, Devaughnte sees himself working in a tech company creating designs for new inventions.
Aunjanette
Aunjanette Dodds is in the 7th grade at Nowlin Jr.High. One of her favorite subjects is history. She believes there are so many different things that you can learn from the past that relate to the present. One of the strengths that Aunjanette Dodds has is that she can adjust to problems by looking at it through a different way and picking it apart piece by piece. Her expertise is in cooking, especially baking desserts. She has experience in 3D printing likes to use an online software called Tinkercad for design work. She has been involved in technology since a very young age and its a driving ambition for her future goals.
Lawrence
Lawrence Sims is an artist with experience in drawing comics and making animation. He also has experience in 3D printing and photo and video editing. A good amount of this experience comes from volunteering at the library as the media lab assistant. As the lab assistant he helped facilitate programs for kids and teens such as RC racing. He also helped prepare for events like the Black History Live Museum. He graduated from Southeast High School in the class of 2020 and is now working on founding his own media company with a group of friends. Cartoons, comics, and videogames are some of the things the company wants to create. His strengths are always having a positive attitude and his ability to complete tasks quickly when not distracted. In a year he sees himself drawing comics with friends for their own company.
Aniyah
Aniyah Fletcher is a sophomore at Raytown Highschool. During the school year Aniyah participates in many activities such as student council, track and field and the girl’s golf team. Even though the school year was cut short due to covid, Aniyah had the opportunity to work at ArtsTech where she gained an interest in sewing. This summer Aniyah has enhanced her talent of clothing design and will soon be starting her own business. A strength that she has is learning new skills quickly and applying them in her life to better herself and those around her. Five years from now, Aniyah sees herself graduating from college and working in a hospital as a sonogram tech while also selling her clothes globally.