Students at Sisler High School receive industry-standard tablets through animation program

Sixty students from Sisler High School’s CREATE program received high-end animation, industry-standard tablets Thursday morning, to help them as they navigate their early days in the animation and film industry.

Sisler High School offers a free post-high program in the areas of 2D animation, 3D animation, and game design and film.

“They weren’t expecting this at all. They had no clue. No clue,” said Jamie Leduc, department head for the CREATE program.

“[The tablets] arrived and then we quickly hid them, and then we had to release our students early yesterday. We were like, oh we’re going to clean up the room a little bit. And they all left and then we moved all the devices underneath [a] table.”

Leduc says students believed they were gathered together to say thank you to Walther Schroeder with The Schroeder Foundation.

“I don’t really show emotion a lot, but yeah – I was really shocked,” said Aylene Sun, a 2D animation CREATE program student.

Sun received one of the Cintiq 16 Wacom tablets. She says the art form is personal, and means a lot to her.

“When I was a child I would watch animation almost every day. My parents didn’t speak English very well and I think I learned English from animation alone,” Sun explained.

Sun, who says she grew up in a Mandarin-speaking household, says it’s a dream of hers to continue with animation after the program ends. 

She says the gift, which comes from program partners The Schroeder Foundation and Wacom Canada, will help her as she pursues an animation career.

“It’s just a nice feeling to have just seeing what you draw on screen in front of you. So, yes, I think it would definitely improve my animation quality with the technology.”

Post-high 2D animation student, Kaya Shulz, says she was shocked at the announcement.

“I am blown away. I was not expecting that at all. I’ve always wanted that Cintiq, especially since being here and really getting into animation,” said Shulz. “I think everybody processes things differently. I tend to be shocked and then it hits me later. I’m so happy. I’m so happy.

“It’s a lifelong dream to do this as a living and this is just bringing me one step closer to that, so it’s amazing.”

Shulz is currently working with Sony’s visual effects production team. For her, animation has also been a lifelong journey.

“I started just on an iPad, I had the program FlipaClip, it’s just a free app and I just would do that with my … stylus, and I would just make little animations out of that,” she explained.

“I really only got into the professional software once I got here, but I’ve always been passionate about art.”

Jamie Leduc is the department head for the program. He says the quality of work students are delivering is incredible.

“Seeing the students believe in themselves and bet on themselves proves that anything is possible,” said Leduc.

“What’s happening is students are coming through our program and are landing jobs. The fact that we’re doing paid internships here right in our building proves that what our students are capable of doing is equivalent to most colleges.”

Leduc says it was a special moment for him as an educator.

“They are all so humble and they all appreciate it. They appreciate everything that has been given to them. That means a lot to us.”

Leduc says the tablets will help students as they move to the next stage of their careers: onto post-secondary training, remote work, and freelance work.

He says in May, the group is headed to Los Angeles to meet with their mentors at Nickelodeon Studios.

The Schroeder Foundation is supporting the CREATE program through scholarships, staffing support, equipment, and travel. Wacom Canada also supports the program through hardware, prizes, sponsorship, and industry mentors.