My name is Pierre Young, my pronouns are he/him, and I am a student at Metropolitan State University studying Studio Bachelor of Arts. I have also completed a Gaming minor. After this year I’m going to go for my Master’s in Technical Communication. I’m proud to take on the Treasurer officer role of Students United.
I started my higher education in 2015 at Saint Paul College pursuing my Computer Graphics and Visualization Associates degree. I was lucky that my mother told me to use grants for school and not loans and I still don’t use loans until this day! I made lots of connections and friends at Saint Paul College when I served on Student Senate as the Marketing and Events Coordinator creating events, flyers, and attending Executive Board meetings. I took a year off of student government in my last year at Saint Paul College and transferred to Metro State and joined the Metropolitan State University Student Association (MSUSA) which is led by my friend who is a former Students United board member, and the current MSUSA president, Hamisha Alkamooneh. I’ve been learning a lot from Hamisha. She has helped me get to the next level of student engagement by using students’ voices, learning how to be a better advocate, and working with our executive board to make the best decisions.
I was also a volunteer in the Community Technology Empowerment Project (CTEP) in the AmeriCorps organization for two years. My service site was at Metro State, where they teach adult learners digital literacy, such as teaching workshops in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. As a bonus, I taught how to use apps that have something to do with gaming. I have taught the service Twitch and Discord which will help in my dream career. (Students United Twitch maybe?!) I owe CTEP my life after learning so many educational resources, getting involved in different organizations, and taking on leadership roles.
A quote from my mentor is, “You have so much to offer, and you can’t bring yourself down because envy people always find a way to bring you down.”
As an African American, there are always challenges with our race, tensions within our own people, and discrimination from people who abuse their power. What I want to bring to Students United is that it doesn’t matter what color you are, it doesn’t matter if people try to stop you or do not care what you do in your education – you can succeed and people will respect you.
Outside of school, I hang out with friends by going to the movies, playing games (I am a big gamer as you know), taking photographs of nature and people, going to anime conventions, and participating in gaming tournaments. I recently accepted an Esports position with the Phyllis Wheatley Center in Minneapolis coaching teens and encouraging them to earn scholarships with our partner, Minnesota Esports Club. After I graduate with my Studio Arts BA and Technical Communication MA I want to find a job I love and never feel like I’m powerless in the gaming industry. Learning budgeting in the Treasurer role will improve my skills in the future and help other students understand the budget.