Author, Pixar director ‘inspire’ South Fayette students to innovate
A small group of innovators spoke to South Fayette students and parents about the importance of creativity.
Elyse Klaidman, director of archives and exhibitions at Pixar Animations Studios, and Peter Sims, co-founder of BLK SHP (pronounced black sheep) and author of Little Bets, a book about innovation used in the district, spoke at the school district May 8 trying to inspire the students to innovate.
BLK SHP, which stopped at South Fayette as part of its bus tour, has a mission to “unlock the inner artist and creator in everyone,” said Chris Chavez, the event’s moderator.
“We’re all in this together, and we might as well be solving problems that have meaning and impact our communities and also have a ton of fun while doing so,” he said.
South Fayette Superintendent Ken Lockette said having Klaidman and Sims on campus to talk to the district’s students is a great opportunity.
“We’re thrilled to have them here,” Lockette said. “They’re both incredible people, and BLK SHP is an incredible group.”
Chavez first asked both Klaidman and Sims about how their careers progressed.
Klaidman said her route to a director at Pixar was unconventional.
“The path winds all the time,” she said.
For Sims, he recalls being very focused on “achievements,” which he said is common for young students.
“When I was in the athletics and (school), everything was high focus on achievement,” he said. “That makes sense. We all want to do well, and we should aspire for high quality. But achievement for the sake of achievement is very shallow.”
Sims became a venture capitalist in London, which most people equate to being successful, but that’s not how Sims saw it.
“I was living the dream in so many respects, and I wasn’t happy,” he said. “I felt a lack of meaning. It was so much so that I had trouble getting out of bed in the morning. This is the achievement drive taken to the extreme. I needed to take a step back to find more meaning in my life.”
With most the audience being elementary school students, Sims’ advice to them was to trust what they’re truly interested in and work at it.
“What are you interested in? What will you run through a wall for? Remember that. Don’t forget that, because those things don’t usually change over your life,” he said. “It’s hard to know your intuition when you’re young. I had no idea who I was when I was young. I would stress about things, a test or an achievement thing, that don’t matter. Listen to that voice. Honor that voice, no matter what your age.”
Assistant Superintendent David Deramo asked Sims what his advice is to educators about creativity and innovation.
“I think there are a lot of things that I observed here going on today that are … skills I would emphasize,” Sims said. “We’re educated for a world that does not exist. I felt that was the case for me. I was educated for a linear world of solving known problems, and the world is not linear. It’s a world that rewards people who are curious and who discover things by asking the right questions.”
Lockette said he hopes the students in attendance were “inspired.”
“I hope they enjoyed the speakers,” he said. “We are all learners, and that’s what we want to strive for at South Fayette. We’re all a part of this together.”