{"id":19414,"date":"2019-10-22T14:53:07","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T18:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/?p=19414"},"modified":"2019-10-22T14:53:07","modified_gmt":"2019-10-22T18:53:07","slug":"hal-meeks-leads-students-to-explore-animation-through-design-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/2019\/10\/22\/hal-meeks-leads-students-to-explore-animation-through-design-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Hal Meeks Leads Students to Explore Animation Through Design Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hal<\/a><\/p>\n

By Stuart Hall<\/p>\n

For as long as Hal Meeks can recall, he\u2019s had a passion to tinker.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing a lot of things that you\u2019re supposed to do as a designer,\u201d said Meeks, 60, whose father was an engineer and mother was an avid painter. \u201cI got it from them and I always making things. I was a critical thinker, but I really wasn\u2019t thinking that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meeks, who earned his undergraduate (1985, BA Speech Communications) and Master\u2019s (2011, Art + Design) degrees and is currently working toward his PhD. (Communication, Rhetoric and Digital Media) from NC State University, has also had a fascination with education.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been interested in education my entire life,\u201d said Meeks, who also worked for NC State\u2019s Office of Information Technology in a number of capacities through the years. \u201cThe main reason why I work at a university is because I like being in an educational environment and I like being around other people who are interested in learning. I love sharing my enthusiasm for education with other people. It\u2019s always been a keen interest of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an undergraduate, Meeks thought he might one day go into public education. He also had some friends who were in the College of Design and was envious. \u201cI loved the place, but I thought I\u2019m not really a designer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So Meeks took a different career path. A few years later, he stood in line to order food with a friend, who was in the university\u2019s graphic design program. The topic of design was being discussed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018You know, I am not really a graphic designer,\u2019 and he said \u2018Hal, you have spent a lot of time telling me what you are not.\u2019 I was like \u2018Oh my god, he\u2019s right.\u2019 So I applied to the Master\u2019s program and I got in. It was a big shock for me. It really was a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2008, curiosity and curriculum converged. Meeks was pursuing his Master\u2019s degree and there were discussions about how the Art + Design program could be involved with NC State Design Lab\u2019s Design Camp. Meeks was part of a collaborative effort that pitched the idea of doing animation and, later, stop motion animation.<\/p>\n

Design Camp, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2020, allows middle (rising sixth through eighth graders) and high (rising ninth through 11th graders) school students to study five design disciplines \u2014 art + design, graphic, architecture, landscape architecture and industrial. Two week-long day camps for middle and high school students and two week-long residential camps for rising high school juniors and seniors are offered each summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of students come into it thinking they might like to make architecture their future, but they don\u2019t have a lot of exposure to the other [disciplines] in high school,\u201d Meeks said. \u201cSo Design Camp gives them the opportunity to get some exposure, to work with some faculty and other students who have similar interests as theirs. It\u2019s an opportunity to get their feet wet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The projects produced by the students in all of the disciplines are \u201cphenomenal and amazing,\u201d said Meeks, who does not hide his enthusiasm for the students\u2019 critical thought and creative design process. \u201cI know that may sound so clich\u00e9, but it really is. You won\u2019t believe what these students are able to create in a day. It blows me away sometimes. And that is immensely rewarding for me because I just love sharing with the students.\u201d<\/p>\n

About five years ago, Meeks began having students work together in pairs. He believes the summer camp atmosphere ignites quicker bonds among students, even among those from different backgrounds and locations. In turn, students organically blend their respective skillsets to collaborate on stronger projects.<\/p>\n

At the end of a week that Meeks describes as a \u201cblur of activity,\u201d students, parents and faculty get to see the various projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is like Christmas morning,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have students in your class and you see what they\u2019ve done and it\u2019s awesome. Then you walk over to another studio and you see what those students have done and you\u2019re like \u2018Oh my gosh.\u2019 Then you begin to realize how much they are capable of and that they can go in so many different directions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meeks is evidence of that fact.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\"Hal<\/a>\n\nBy Stuart Hall\n\nFor as long as Hal Meeks can recall, he\u2019s had a passion to tinker.\n\n\u201cI was doing a lot of things that you\u2019re supposed to do as a designer,\u201d said Meeks, 60, whose father was an engineer and mother was an avid painter. \u201cI got it from them and I always making things. I was a critical thinker, but I really wasn\u2019t thinking that way.\u201d\n\nMeeks, who earned his undergraduate (1985, BA Speech Communications) and Master\u2019s (2011, Art + Design) degrees and is currently working toward his PhD. (Communication, Rhetoric and Digital Media) from NC State University, has also had a fascination with education.\n\n\u201cI have been interested in education my entire life,\u201d said Meeks, who also worked for NC State\u2019s Office of Information Technology in a number of capacities through the years. \u201cThe main reason why I work at a university is because I like being in an educational environment and I like being around other people who are interested in learning. I love sharing my enthusiasm for education with other people. It\u2019s always been a keen interest of mine.\u201d\n\nAs an undergraduate, Meeks thought he might one day go into public education. He also had some friends who were in the College of Design and was envious. \u201cI loved the place, but I thought I\u2019m not really a designer,\u201d he said.\n\nSo Meeks took a different career path. A few years later, he stood in line to order food with a friend, who was in the university\u2019s graphic design program. The topic of design was being discussed.\n\n\u201cI said, \u2018You know, I am not really a graphic designer,\u2019 and he said \u2018Hal, you have spent a lot of time telling me what you are not.\u2019 I was like \u2018Oh my god, he\u2019s right.\u2019 So I applied to the Master\u2019s program and I got in. It was a big shock for me. It really was a dream come true.\u201d\n\nIn 2008, curiosity and curriculum converged. Meeks was pursuing his Master\u2019s degree and there were discussions about how the Art + Design program could be involved with NC State Design Lab\u2019s Design Camp. Meeks was part of a collaborative effort that pitched the idea of doing animation and, later, stop motion animation.\n\nDesign Camp, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2020, allows middle (rising sixth through eighth graders) and high (rising ninth through 11th graders) school students to study five design disciplines \u2014 art + design, graphic, architecture, landscape architecture and industrial. Two week-long day camps for middle and high school students and two week-long residential camps for rising high school juniors and seniors are offered each summer.\n\n\u201cA lot of students come into it thinking they might like to make architecture their future, but they don\u2019t have a lot of exposure to the other [disciplines] in high school,\u201d Meeks said. \u201cSo Design Camp gives them the opportunity to get some exposure, to work with some faculty and other students who have similar interests as theirs. It\u2019s an opportunity to get their feet wet.\u201d\n\nThe projects produced by the students in all of the disciplines are \u201cphenomenal and amazing,\u201d said Meeks, who does not hide his enthusiasm for the students\u2019 critical thought and creative design process. \u201cI know that may sound so clich\u00e9, but it really is. You won\u2019t believe what these students are able to create in a day. It blows me away sometimes. And that is immensely rewarding for me because I just love sharing with the students.\u201d\n\nAbout five years ago, Meeks began having students work together in pairs. He believes the summer camp atmosphere ignites quicker bonds among students, even among those from different backgrounds and locations. In turn, students organically blend their respective skillsets to collaborate on stronger projects.\n\nAt the end of a week that Meeks describes as a \u201cblur of activity,\u201d students, parents and faculty get to see the various projects.\n\n\u201cIt really is like Christmas morning,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have students in your class and you see what they\u2019ve done and it\u2019s awesome. Then you walk over to another studio and you see what those students have done and you\u2019re like \u2018Oh my gosh.\u2019 Then you begin to realize how much they are capable of and that they can go in so many different directions.\u201d\n\nMeeks is evidence of that fact."},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Stuart Hall For as long as Hal Meeks can recall, he\u2019s had a passion to tinker. \u201cI was doing a lot of things that you\u2019re supposed to do as a designer,\u201d said Meeks, 60, whose father was an engineer and mother was an avid painter. \u201cI got it from them and I always making…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":19415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[19,9,17],"class_list":["post-19414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-experience","category-newswire","tag-_featured","tag-art-design","tag-design-lab-k-12"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19414\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}