ExtraLife 2021: UAT Gamers Raised Funds and Spirits
On Saturday, November 6, 2021, UAT students and faculty participated in ExtraLife—a streaming fundraiser benefitting the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The UAT team was hosted by Professor Derric Clark, team captain in his third year of participation in ExtraLife. Gamers were able to stream as long or as little as they chose starting at 8:00 a.m. the day of the event, and although they individually raised the funds, they all worked together as one UAT team.
A total of 29 streamers signed up for the UAT ExtraLife team; 11 of those received at least one donation. According to Professor Clark, a total of 17 UAT streams were happening at one point or another, “A couple of those were a group, so 25-30 total people participated!”
Although the excitement of the weekend has ended, the fundraising actually continues through the end of the year. The UAT team already reached their goal of $2,700 on November 9—so the team has decided to carry on—raising their target donation to $2,900 for the Children’s Miracle Network and planning to stream again over Thanksgiving weekend.
“The students did an amazing job, and I cannot thank them enough for being a part of this event and supporting a great cause,” said Professor Clark. “I would also like to thank everyone for your support on all fronts; you made a difference in the lives of others!”
And for the students, the experience was good for both their education and character. According to streamer Taylor McKenzie, “The pressure of the stream is what I needed to keep me moving forward with my game development; it really helped! Receiving the donations and knowing they were going to a great cause also felt incredible and streaming for charity is moving its way into my schedule regularly. A push for my own motivation and helping others at the same time, why wouldn’t I keep going?!”
Student Wren Martin also greatly enjoyed the event. “I truly felt honored to be a part of this experience,” they said. “As a content creator myself, my goal is to entertain, give people a reason to smile, and to help others who are in need. One of my goals has always been to participate in a fundraiser to raise money for charity by doing what I love—gaming. My goal was accomplished, my dream came true, and I am thankful for the experience that I had. I will 100% be doing this again.”
UAT is very proud of Professor Clark and the students who put their talents to use for this great cause. View the UAT team page at https://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.team&teamID=58496. There you can join the team, watch the streams, and make donations. Happy streaming!
Team Credits:
Name: Derric Clark
Online Name: Deconstruction Gaming
Channel Link: https://www.youtube.com/DeconstructionGaming/
Thought on the experience: It was great being part of a group willing to put time and effort into helping others. Jumping into all of your individual streams and watching you play and interact was amazing.
Name: Trevor Baughn
Online Name: TheGoatIsBetter
Channel Link: https://www.twitch.tv/thegoatisbetter
It was hectic, but really fun. Lots of fun jokes thrown between Boone and myself throughout our stream. We had a fairly consistent viewer-count too, so that was nice. If Boone is willing to come on with me for another sometime, I’d be hella down.
Name: Jordan Dunaway
Online Name: Dunaco
Channel Link: https://www.twitch.tv/Dunaco
I’m just doing what I do, why not stream it too.
Name: Jozlyn Nowak
Online Name: Luna748
Channel Link: https://www.twitch.tv/luna748
It was a lot of fun. I had run the Esports channel for most of the day and ran some on my own. It was a lot of fun, everything I had set up for The Wyverns and being able to promote a charity. I’ve been streaming for 4 years now and it’s nice that I’ve finally been able to do a charity event, I had been wanting to do one for a while.
Name: Joe Parisia
Online Name: Gorgonak
Channel Link: https://www.twitch.tv/gorgonak
It was fun! I wanted to start streaming for just that reason and I’ve always loved helping charities in the past. Combining them both together is that much better.
Name: Ryland Kealey
Online Name: Jazz Boy
Channel Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2EBr2SGtYfSnwCVKj4yDqQ
Super fun! loved playing Minecraft and making pixel art on stream! I can’t wait to do this again some time!
Name: Ibrahim Al-Nassir
Online Name: Ian A. Narcisse (or Ian_NYC)
Channel Link: https://www.twitch.tv/ian_nyc
I had a fun time learning to stream on a new platform. It was also the first time I had to come up with things to do. It introduced me to a new way to practice 3D modeling, and that was especially fun.
Name: Taylor McKenzie
Online Name: Blubehriluv
Channel Link: https://www.twitch.tv/blubehriluv
I had a great time hanging out with folks and just speaking out loud the way I normally do in my head. The pressure of the stream is what I needed to keep me moving forward with my game development; it really helped! Receiving the donations and knowing they were going to a great cause also felt incredible and streaming for charity is moving its way into my schedule regularly. A push for my own motivation and helping others at the same time, why wouldn’t I keep going?!
Name: Emily Szymanski
Online Name: Hok-Z
Channel Link: https://www.twitch.tv/hokzii
The team did wonderfully even though I severely miscalculated the time it would take—that’s on me. They saw it through to the end and I wouldn’t mind bringing them through another raid at some point. There’s a possibility of that being streamed, too. Overall, a super fun experience.
Name: Wren Martin
Online Name: Reddbirb or ReddbirbLive
Channel Link: https://www.twitch.tv/ReddbirbLive
I truly felt honored to be a part of this experience. As a content creator myself, my goal is to entertain, give people a reason to smile, and to help others who are in need. One of my goals has always been to participate in a fundraiser to raise money for charity by doing what I love—gaming. My goal was accomplished, my dream came true, and I am thankful for the experience that I had. I will 100% be doing this again.
Name: Donavan Potter
Online Name: HunterofOil
Channel Link: https://www.twitch.tv/HunterofOil/
I enjoyed the experience and enjoyed being given the opportunity to take part in helping a cause that was larger than myself. I started without a cash goal in mind, but simply wanted to bring awareness and raise as much from any charitable individuals who wanted to donate and have no problems doing this event again.