At Montgomery Community Media, (MCM), we offer a variety of courses to the community. The Media Education Production Manager in the Education and Community Engagement Department, Delmar Patterson, teaches courses on podcasting, video, and photo editing. I sat down with Delmar to discuss his experience teaching at MCM.
We began by discussing how Patterson got involved with MCM. It was a good place to start as he is someone that motivates each one of his interns including myself. Patterson said he wanted to be a part of something that helped give back to the community on a personal and intimate level when he stumbled on My Montgomery Community Media.
Patterson’s favorite part of working here is inspiring people. He inspires at MCM through patience and compassion when his students/interns are confused. He said that what really keeps him going at MCM is “The grassroots part of it and how you can make a small change that may inspire something big.”
According to Patterson, when it comes to teaching patience is the key that unlocks the mind. His favorite thing about teaching classes is “The look on people’s faces when they learn something new.”
During a class of Delmar’s on video editing he used his everyday principle to get that look on a student. Through patience, Delmar unlocked something they had been stuck on by showing her shortcuts. The student told Delmar, “‘This makes me so much more organized and changes everything.’ That just made me feel so good.”
From Patterson’s classes he has found ways to learn from his students. One of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard is something he told me that applies to all aspects of life. “You don’t need to think as hard as you think you need to think. Don’t overthink it.”
The message Patterson conveyed about thinking applies to everything, not just media. It goes a long way for students to receive grace and kindness in any stage of learning.
With Delmar’s experience in podcasting, I asked what he would want to do a podcast on. He said a positive one, one that had a “Combination of film, anime, music and video games…y’know nerd stuff.”
When I asked him what he wants people to know about him, he said he wants people to know they can come to him about anything and not to be fearful of learning. Lastly, he wants people to know will beat anybody in Smash Bros (any version).
We wrapped up on what media companies he draws inspiration from. His two answers were PG Lang (a record label) and Adult Swim (TV channel). He derives his passion for media from Kendrick Lamar’s PG Lang’s unique music production. In addition, he said, he is motivated by Adult Swim in “How they do their ethos, content, experiments and programming.”
Delmar is a teacher here at MCM that can help you start your journey in media. He enjoys media and looks to share his passion with people. The biggest lesson I’ve learned from Delmar is that it’s important to learn things with people who are willing to learn from you. A little bit of patience and compassion can go a long way.
Photo taken by Dawni Collins
