TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Imaginations are coming to life for Pima JTED students in their new and improved 3D Animation, Virtual Reality (VR) and Game Design Laboratory.
This program prepares students for careers in the entertainment industry, gaming and beyond.
When you walk into the lab, you now see over 40 Apple computers, plus three laptops for competition use, all thanks to the Reinhaus Family Foundation that donated $105,000 to make this happen.
Hector Corrales, Reinhaus Family Foundation Vice President, said he toured the campus in 2024 and was really impressed with the program and asked how he could help make it better.
“It was something I was interested in, I think it would’ve been cool when I was in school," Corrales said.
He says seeing the excitement from the kids is the reason why they give back.
“To get them in a place in their life where they can excel and get a job they can actually enjoy, not just a job but a career," Corrales said.
Joslyn Stein, Walden Grove High School junior and second year in the 3D Animation, VR and Game Design program, says the new tech was much needed.
“It’s usable. It doesn't freeze, which I like and it handles textures well," Stein said. "I can't wait to see how it works with Unity and Unreal Engine because last year when we used those, it was bad," Stein said.
She said the old PC computers were so slow that she had to buy her own laptop to get projects done faster.
“I spent the whole year having to drag a whole laptop setup and set it up for five minutes every class and then take it down," Stein added.
Stein doesn't have to worry about that any longer and is looking forward to pursuing her passion without any technical difficulties.
She says she fell in love with storytelling and wants to be a creative director at a gaming company.
“I started playing games simply for the story and not just to play games and it’s my favorite to just dissect it and be like 'Oh, this story connects to this or this side quest connects to the main quest,'" Stein said.
The instructor of the course, David Fuller, created the 3D Animation, VR and Game Design program at JTED about six years ago.
He says this new lab will allow students to create worlds of their own at a much faster pace.
“I think what I’m excited about is that we want to be able to have kids problem solve, so say they’re given the ability that they have to create maybe something they're not really aware of, and they have to figure out how to make it happen," Fuller said.
He's grateful to the Reinhaus Family Foundation for its donation and for elevating his program.
"Before we were working with Unity and it couldn't keep up with a lot of what we were doing," Fuller said. "To see that there could be another organization or business and industry that cares enough about your program and students, it's just very hard to accept because to see that people care that much — I just thought it was very generous, but to see people do that, it makes you look at people very differently, that they do exist."
You can learn more about the program and enroll here.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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