Cameron Denson stands out from other professors or really anyone who you will see around NC State’s campus. He is tall, dresses with classy flare and has long dreadlocks that set him apart from other professors.
Denson is an assistant professor of science, technology, engineering & math education at NC State.
Although he teaches five different courses in the Technology, Engineering and Design Education Program (TDE), he says his passion has always been digital media which he has taught since he finished his doctorate at the University of Georgia. Digital media is one of the endorsement options that students have in TDE within the two core paths: graphic communications and teaching licensure.
Denson assigns his students projects that include writing and shooting their own TV show, producing music using Garage Band and putting together documentary-style narratives using digital slideshows. These projects and lectures give students the experience and subsequent confidence to do these kinds of things on their own.
“Denson made class fun by giving us group projects that gave us the freedom to come up with our own ideas as long as we met the basic requirements,” said Dylan Hendricks, a junior studying TDE with a graphic communications specialization.
In his free time, Denson researches informal ways to get underrepresented students, including black students and women, more involved in STEM programs, particularly engineering.
“African-American students represent about 12 percent of the population, but when it comes to engineering, they are about 1 to 2 percent,” Denson said.
Denson also pointed out that women represent approximately 50 percent of the population, but a very small percentage of women are involved in engineering.
“The formal learning environment that we are used to has not done a good job of being able to expose these students to different careers in STEM fields,” Denson said.
According to Denson, TDE is a major that has struggled with an image problem. Denson hopes to change that by promoting technology design—the portion of the major that inspired him as an undergraduate student at NC Agricultural and Technical State University—which encompasses filmmaking, web design and 3-D modeling.
When Denson was a junior at NC A&T, a tragedy occurred and resulted in the death of a close friend. This drove him into a depression for several years, during which time he began growing out his dreadlocks. Unable to find closure, Denson turned to writing and film to express his emotions.
“The way that I was able to create my own closure was I created a story around it,” Denson said. “[Writing and filming] became an outlet for me to deal with it.”
This experience led Denson to try to inspire other young people to get involved with digital media and make their voices heard through various forms of technology.
Denson’s involvement in the black community is also manifested in his filmmaking. In his most recent film, Black Pulp, Denson deals with the controversial issue of sex trafficking.
Denson has begun a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise the money to produce the film and enter it into the Tribeca Film Festival on Dec. 24. To donate, search Black Pulp on kickstarter.com. Saturday is the last day to donate.
