Anomaly Special Report: Gamer Girl Scholarship

Hi, I'm Sue. My cell phone ring is the Super Mario Brothers main theme for general calls, the "invincible star" for my family, and "underground theme" for my boss. And I am an Anomaly.

Thanks to a slow afternoon that allowed me to catch up on some RSS feeds, I recently learned of a scholarship being offered on GamingAngels.com for one week's tuition, lodging, and meals at National Computer Camp, valued at $985 (travel costs not included). The scholarship is offered only to female students, ages 8-18, who play video games.

According to the website:

"At NCC, campers can design a 2D or 3D video game, learn to program, create a graphic video, take apart a computer, create a home page, play tennis, play Civilization and make new friends. Now in its 34th year, NCC is America’s original computer camp with locations in Connecticut, Georgia, New York and Ohio."

To enter, students must write a 500-600 word essay on the topic:

What is your favorite video game, and how would you change the design to improve it?

Applications are due on June 8, and the winner will be announced on June 13. Click here for instructions and further information from GamingAngels.com.

This is a fantastic opportunity for young geek and gamer girls, and something that I wish existed when I was 8-18 years old. For the prize to be awarded, they must receive at least 5 entries. That seems like a small number to me, like they're not expecting a big response. So spread the word, and hopefully young geek girls will make themselves known, and applications will flood in.

Sue
Staff Writer for Anomaly
Co-Host of Anomaly Supplemental
Subscribe to Anomaly on iTunes

Music for this special announcement is "Nintendapella" performed by Reverse Osmosis, an a cappella group at USC. Find them at USCReverseOsmosis.com or on iTunes.

Revenge of the Newb

Many stories begin with "once upon a time." My story begins with a power switch and a start button.

When I was much younger, I was an avid video game player. If I wasn't watching cartoons, I was playing Super Mario World, The Lion King, Mario Kart, or one of the few other games that we had for the Super Nintendo. I didn't realize what a geek was back then, I didn't know that there were sects of geeks separated by interests or gender. I was just a little girl who liked her video games.

I would be envious of my family members who owned a Sega Genesis, and I would play the demo pack or Sonic the Hedgehog whenever the Sega made an appearance. Years later, I received a Playstation for my 12th or 13th birthday. And while I couldn't afford a lot of video games, I played what I could every second that I could. And other members in my family got to enjoy the benefits of the Playstation as well. Let me tell you, there's no memory that more endearing to me than watching my father play the Top Gun video game from the hallway. It was awesome and then some.

There was just one itsy bitsy issue with the video game playing. You see, I got a little bit... what's a good word for this? Oh yes, "angry." I was just a step below my older sister, who was grounded for throwing the Super Nintendo controller sharply onto the floor when she did not win a game. I would never do that, but I did get extremely frustrated. When school became more intense in terms of work, that frustration level also increased. And then one day, my beloved Super Nintendo died. After that, I just stopped playing video games. From afar, I watched the evolution of game systems and the graphics within the game. Nintendo 64's, Playstation 2's and 3's, X-Boxes, Wiis, internet MMOs. Nevertheless, with one lone exception, I didn't touch a game controller, I didn't yell at the player to jump or run away, I didn't do a thing except watch.

Ten years have passed since I last picked up a controller. And I have no doubt in my mind that I not only did I miss out on a lot in terms of learning new techniques, but my own 1990's knowledge of gaming has devolved as well. No matter. I am determined to make up for lost time and pick up the old habit again. Who knows? Maybe I'll transition into a gaming geek after all... it'll just require me to watch my character die multiple times before I reach that point.

Thus begins my quest as a non-gamer into the realm of the gaming geek.