It’s not every day a middle or high-school kid can say they worked within a tech start-up company. Connor Davis, 9th grader from Norman High, can say just that. Connor has been involved in Loveworks Leadership throughout middle school. Loveworks was founded to offer experiential learning, leadership and entrepreneurship opportunities to middle and high school students, networking and learning from community leaders and business, like Trifecta Communications, which has mentored the group of students for some time.
During his time at Loveworks, Connor excelled in game design and coding and was tapped to apply to the Wristworld game startup, a kid-centric company started by Loveworks, as a designer.
“It was like the real-world,” said Connor. “I had to apply by submitting my resume and rely on my coding and design skills to stand out.”
Connor was accepted to the program when he was in 7th grade and has been innovating ever since. Here’s his take on why 
the sky is the limit in STEAM, even for kids.
Q: Tell me about how you are involved in Wristworld?
A: I applied in 7th grade and was accepted initially to be a game designer. I have some coding experience that I’ve taught myself and some that I’ve learned while at Loveworks. There are four teams within Wristworld: Marketing, 3D modeling, Art & Design and, a new one I’ve started, Music. I’m actually in charge of all the music for the game. I get a feel for what the scene and the mood is supposed to be, then I use Garage Band to match the best sounds to match that scene.
Q: Did you have a background in music prior to working at Wristworld?
A: I was actually in choir in middle school and loved it. I didn’t know that experience would be really helpful in my future.
Q: What was the most memorable moment you’ve had while working with the Wristworld team?
A: The 2020 Toy Fair! It was the first time I’d been to New York or even a big city for that matter. The fair was a week long, and all nine team members went so we could take turns at our booth. We had to bring people into our booth area and show off our product and explain our company and background. I’m not really an extrovert kind of person and I’m not always very good at speaking, but eventually, I got into the rhythm.
We made tons of industry connections, but the most exciting was Nolan Bushnell, the creator of Atari! That was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.
Q: What do you see yourself doing as you get older? Do you think you’d like to continue to work in the tech startup world?
A: I’m unsure like most people my age. My dream is to be a game designer, which is risky of course, or I could do a more well-assured job like psychology. Having the experience at Loveworks and Wristworld has definitely given me experience if I did decide to take the riskier road.
Q: What advice would you give your younger self or other kids who might be reading this?
A: When opportunity comes to you, take it! I wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t seize opportunities as they came along. Also, kids can do anything adults can. .. Some of us are just as smart as adults are. Don’t ever let your age stop you!
Connor Davis is currently creating custom music for all areas of the Wristworld game, working with a music producer and Crypton in Japan to create brand new songs for the newly licensed international character Hatsune Miku, who actually sings his songs in the game.
Hear from Connor and the rest of the Wristworld team during Geekapalooza, a STEAM festival for kids. Click here for more information, including ticketing.
