Imagine creating your own world full of all of your favorite things. For eight-year-old Kylie, she doesn’t have to imagine that; with the help of her mentor, Imran, she gets to experience that life.
Imran is a recent graduate and former President of the Urban Gaming Club at the University of Pittsburgh. When Connecting Champions reached out to him asking if he would be interested in being Kylie’s friend and spending his Saturday mornings playing their favorite video games together, he was all in. “Teaching people the game of Minecraft and playing with them is something that I’ve always loved to do,” said Imran.
The two games that Imran and Kylie play during their time together are Roblox and Minecraft, platforms that allow the friends to immerse themselves in alternate realities straight from their imaginations.
Thanks to Imran’s background in computer science, he is able to take all of Kylie’s ideas and turn them into playable worlds in the games. After a few calls of getting to know each other and exploring the basics of the games, Imran asked Kylie if she could create her own game, what it would look like.
“She burst out with so many amazing ideas,” said Imran, who helped Kylie create Ariel’s House, a now public game server that is widely popular among other Roblox users. “She was able to create this entire world, such as a very cool obstacle course designed with her favorite animals. Ariel from The Little Mermaid was also there!”
To celebrate Kylie’s 8th birthday, Imran had an idea to make her a cake…a cake on Minecraft! During their call right after Kylie’s birthday, Imran surprised her with a giant virtual cake with a bunch of little candles on it, complete with a big sign that read “Happy Birthday Kylie!” The icing on the cake (pun intended): when you pressed a button, the birthday song played on Kylie’s speakers.
Kylie and Imran are approaching two years of playing Roblox and Minecraft together, and Kylie’s imagination continues to grow and impress her mentor. “I’m glad that I can help Kylie express her imagination,” said Imran. “It really blows me away every time that she has new ideas for things. She has so much imagination and creativity to show off.”
Kylie and Imran were featured in our Toast from Coast to Coast in May 2024, completing a MadLib together. Check out the video below!
