The Power of the TMCF MetaScholars Program
Never underestimate the Power of HBCU Talent. Over this past month, I’ve witnessed and experienced the growth of our MetaScholars, going from Web 3 Fans to Web 3 participants. They’ve evolved from just knowing about the technologies to leaving their mark in and out of World. Vincent Hunt, the lead Experience Architect of the MetaScholars program, says it best “ Each one teaches one.” We have now moved to the point where the MetaScholars are teaching us.
It all started with our Field Excercise (FX) system. The TMCF team created FX challenges to move the scholars from taking in information to actively doing the work and exploring Web 3. It’s critical for students to not only learn the ins and outs of Web 3 but to apply the information they learn in their unique way based on their skillsets. For example, these FX challenges can be as simple as creating a MetaMask Wallet, researching an NFT project they are passionate about, or just going to Horizon Worlds and meeting two new friends.
No matter how small or big the Field Exercises are, these become the building blocks for the skills needed in the economies of tomorrow. In completing these FX challenges, scholars can rack up points and level up from M1 to M5 by the end of their journey. The higher the students rank, the more rewards and unique opportunities they will receive as a part of the MetaScholars program. More on these rewards and opportunities at a later date!
As we progressed through our programming, we thought about how we could take this one step further and help the students build their toolkit of Web 3 knowledge. This led to an epiphany… let every MetaScholar present on an FX or topic of their choice in World. Yes, I mean inside of VR. We believe the future of presenting is Virtual Reality, especially for moments when people cannot be in the same room. As a program, we practically live in VR. Our classes are held there, and we have group discussions because immersive capabilities are much better than just watching a presentation on a laptop screen.
In our minds, the MetaScholars must be prepared to present in VR because at any point, as the future leaders of tomorrow, they can be called upon to deliver their expertise. Presenting in VR is a learned skill set and takes some time to get used to fully, so I would advise practicing as much as possible and delivering presentations in World. The MetaScholars are already practicing this core skill set, and the results from their presentations speak for themselves. A great example is Brandi Nichols.
Brandi did her presentation on 3D Replicas vs Virtual 3D Spaces. Brandi grew up designing 3D Replicas on her IPAD and has had a passion for design. She is now using her Meta Quest to build 3D Spaces in Horizon Worlds and has taken her design skills and immersion to the next level. During her presentation, she showcased the process of making Dragon Ball Z’s Kami Look Out on King Kai’s Planet. As a fan of Dragon Ball Z, this blew me away but showcased what students can build using these new technologies.
For the MetaScholars program, this was a critical moment of discovery. This showed a prime example of why it’s so important to invest in HBCU talent and speaks to the very existence of why the Thurgood Marshall College Fund exists. Our MetaScholars are coming up with ideas and building in-world things we could not have foreseen during the early days of building this program. Web 3 has a unique way of bringing all ages together to learn about this explosive moment in Technology. We find ourselves as a team learning just as much from the students as they do from us. It’s truly a great time to be in Web 3.
For a special surprise in this blog post, I wanted to share the recording of our first tour of the First African American Museum hosted on the Crypto Voxels Platform. Memme Onwudiwe walks us through the Museum and talks about the artist behind the work, and what it took to build the project. This is a must-listen, and make sure to go visit the museum for yourself using this link.