Southwood High School alumnus returns home to give back
Robert Atkins, CEO of BALANCED Media | Technology, a video game and purpose-driven technology company in McKinney, Texas, came back to his roots today to speak to students in Shreveport. Atkins’ inspirational message to students was, “If I can do it, so can you.”
Atkins, who is promoting a new afterschool partnership with BRF’s Digital Media Institute (DMI), told the students he grew up extremely poor and lived in the local neighborhood of Cedar Grove. He said had it not been for Southwood High School’s Assistant Principal, Mrs. Martha Boone, who dedicated herself to making sure he enrolled at LSU-Shreveport, he would not be who he is today.
“She changed my life,” Atkins told the assembly. “Often, what it takes to help someone out is just to let them know that opportunities exist.”
Atkins told the students about the new, free afterschool program which teaches students the core principles of computer animation and modeling.
The program’s curriculum is created and staffed by DMI and is funded by a grant from Shreveport’s Carolyn W. and Charles T. Beaird Family Foundation.
The afterschool program will be piloted at Southwood High School and will be offered to more local high schools in the coming months.