iD Nation,

Last week I received in the mail a box of candy from a student.  I was moved by the hand-written card, the thoughtfulness of the gift, but also the reminder that what we do (run summer computer camps for kids) changes lives, one student at a time.

Braden attended our Villanova University location and took a course that is now titled Adventures in Programming – a course that is fun and great for summer learning.  He really excelled and he has a very, very bright future.

Braden – I personally want to thank you for the card and the candy.  I really love the card.  Your grammar and spelling and penmanship are really, really top notch.  And the picture of the computer that you drew is really cool too.  Thanks for taking the time to write me.  You made my day.  And my week.  And I am so glad you enjoyed our summer camp!

Thank you!

Pete

PS, the i in “iD” and T in “Tech” fell off the bottom part of the card, but that makes it even cooler!

Hello iD Nation,

I just received this message through facebook.  This is what it’s all about!  We talk a lot about how our summer camps develop technical skills for the future.  This is proof you don’t need to wait until college to start putting those skills into action.  This is awesome stuff and certainly worthy of a “do something big” story.  FYI, the letter says “Thanks to you, Pete…” but I cannot and will not take credit for our awesome tech camps.  The success of our programs is dependent on the people on our team.  Thanks to everyone who has made our summer camps in New Jersey, and our camps across the country, a success.

Enjoy!

-Pete

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Subject: Thanks to IDTech Camp, Co. hires 9 yr old website developers

Thanks to you, Pete!

This summer, fresh out of 3rd grade, our twins R. and S. (names withheld for security) learned enough in your website development/game development course to develop a website for a local company and got paid enough to pay for their tuition next summer! (Their goal!)

No, it was not a relative or friend, it was a real client! We told them if they wanted to take classes in game development, they would have to earn the $ to pay for it…and they did!  We are attaching a picture of them with their clients and first paycheck.  They also negotiated a website maintenance contract…ongoing $$$!

If I were you, I would advertise in our area of PA.  Ours were the only kids at Rider College from our area, we found you only by accident, and there is a lot of interest in this type of class here.  If you need any help promoting IDTech camp in this area, we would love to help you (for free).  All parents should know about a camp their kids like so much they are willing to to learn enough to pay their own tuition!

Gratefully,

H. & L.  (Parents’ names withheld for confidentiality)

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We’ve got our summer camps in PA at Carnegie Mellon University and Villanova University.  Please check the availability of our courses at these locations.  And, thanks for spreading the word.  This is what it’s all about!

-Pete

Hey guys,

It was great seeing you yesterday. Sorry I only was in town for a short while, but man did I see some great stuff. Here are some pics I took yesterday. I just want to recognize the gaming academy summer staff and of course the students who are truly into game design, game programming, and professional gaming–you guys are the future of the industry. Enjoy these pics!

Enjoy the rest of your stay at the iD Gaming Academy!

Be safe and have fun!

Best,

-Pete

My Peeps at Villanova University-

It was awesome getting to see you in action yesterday. Although I was only there for a short while, I got to see the lab, meet the computer camp staff, check out some cool projects and listen to some cool project ideas for next year.

Thanks for showing me around. It was awesome to see the creativity and imagination behind all the projects. Great work! Congrats on running such an awesome tech camp!

Enjoy the pics!

Have fun at Family Showcase tomorrow and show off those projects! Your parents have no idea what goes on behind the scenes when you make your projects–let them know what truly goes into it!

Be safe!

-Pete

Welcome everyone! Camp has just started, but we have all types of fun content to start posting. I want to welcome all iD students, camp staff and parents to our blog. We have weekly posts so check back regularly, or, better yet, sign up for RSS and let the content come to you!

OK, let’s get this party started.

I wanted to share this cool email I just got from one of our summer camp staff. This is a former camper that is now working for us. As I travel the country, I see more and more staff that once attended our computer camps as students–it makes me feel older–but quite proud.

From: Mike (Last Name Withheld)
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 11:05 PM
To: Pete
Subject: Seton hall – youtube of backflip

Pete,

I just wanted to first off say what a great weekend that was at Seton
Hall. I really had a great time meeting all of the staff and I really
wish I would get to work with each and every one.

It was also great to meet the staff that make this happen. I was
really impressed to see you, the CEO, all over camp, taking pictures
and even blogging about us. I went to the camp nearly 7 years ago,
the first year of camp at Villanova University. I took video editing
and absolutely loved it. The following year I took 3 weeks of
Programming, and now i’m back to teach 3D Game Design 1 and Game Modding 1 at
Villanova University.

I hope I can make camp as fun for these kids next week as
the staff did the years I went to the summer computer camp. This company really has
grown from something that was awesome to something even more
extraordinary.

Anyway, I imagine you’ve heard during one of the sessions we were
playing Kung Fu Hustle and a staff did a backflip to impress everyone.
I was surfing youtube the other day and apparently someone had a
camera. Sorry if they already sent you this but I
couldn’t resist!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0rGA5m4AHbA

With instructors like this there’s now way the kids could be
disappointed!
Thanks!

-Mike