If there isn’t a path to where he wants to go, Jeremy Roden isn’t afraid to create one. Take his undergraduate career at UNT, for instance. He and two fellow art students wanted to earn a degree in computer graphics. The only problem was the university didn’t offer one.
The three students approached the university’s dean and provost, argued their case, found a professor to serve as advisor, secured a little funding for software and designed their own computer graphics education by founding the A.N.D. (Absolutely No Degree) Computer Graphics Society. In the end, backed by UNT’s renowned art program, the three taught themselves and others what was then rare at the university level: 3-D computer graphics.
Jeremy jumped straight into the computer graphics industry, first with a local video production house and later doing lighting and special effects for Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon, working on their Oscar-nominated film “Jimmy Neutron.” As a freelance artist, he’s also worked in 3-D layout, video production, game cinematics and 3-D medical and industrial simulation.
One day while he was still at Paramount, his old high school math teacher, Denise Pinder, called from Fort Worth and asked him to teach a 3-D class to a high school group preparing for a NASA-sponsored robotics competition. He found that — like most of his family members — he was a natural-born teacher.
A new career was born. After switching from industry to teaching high school in the DISD for three years, he was hired in 2007 to spearhead Richland College’s new Interactive Simulation and Game Technology program as its coordinator and lead faculty member.
His new career is the perfect blend of what he likes to do best: teach students to use the latest software technology to create 3-D animated art for entertainment and educational applications. And it’s not all about designing computer and video games for entertainment — though that is one component — since industry applications include medical and scientific simulation, engineering and industrial animation, particularly in the aeronautic and transportation industries.
“I love teaching,” he says. “Each student is a different customizable project — they all learn differently, and as educators we must all recognize this. I like seeing what makes their gears turn. It’s important for them to build skills sets and a portfolio, but I want to make sure they see this as more than just a class credit. I want them to be successful in finding a career where they have the opportunity to improve lives and enjoy doing it.”
In addition to his teaching and administrative workload, he’s also writing a book of short stories titled “Halfway,” based on his father’s childhood in a small 1950s west Texas farming community, and is producing a 30-second computer-animated introduction for it.
He’s also a tireless advocate of putting computer graphics technology into education at all levels. “Today’s digitally charged students learn differently,” he says. “They have an interactive environment surrounding them outside of the classroom, yet they come to school and may find a classroom that hasn’t changed in 20 years. In education, if we want to keep them interested, we’ve got to integrate current technology into the classroom — and the sooner, the better.”
He still has some important people to persuade, though. “Some educators hear the word ‘game,’ and all of a sudden you’re talking to yourself,” he says. “We can do better at integrating innovative technology into schools. Hey, I’m game.”
For Jeremy Roden, it all began here.