When Kai Frazier was in high school, her history teacher changed her life. As a senior, Frazier found herself homeless and didn’t consider college to be an option. But that teacher showed her that she could do more. So Frazier went to college, got a history degree and became a teacher herself.
“I felt like it was only right to become a history teacher. I felt like I owed it to students,” Frazier said. “I wouldn't have been where I was if it wasn't for my history teacher.”
She taught history in low-income districts where her students regularly didn’t have the resources needed to be successful. Frazier realized that traditional teaching methods weren’t enough to serve her students who often struggled with adversity, poverty and a lack of hope.
Her students often lacked basic classroom necessities. “Although many of my students didn’t have books, they did have cell phones and social media. I began to infiltrate their timelines with educational activities.” she said.
As Frazier worked to incorporate technology into her classroom, she grew more interested in how it could be used to bridge education gaps. After several years in history classrooms, she decided that she wanted to work with history in a museum.
Even with her degrees in history and education, it took Frazier five challenging years to secure a position within a museum. Upon entering the field, she was disappointed to find few people who looked like her.
“Everything was pretty much whitewashed,” Frazier said.
In particular she was frustrated by a lack of outreach to the struggling communities in which she once taught.
Her experience in museums combined with the lack of resources she saw in her classrooms, led her to found her own venture, Curated x Kai. The business empowers students by creating diverse & representative virtual reality “field trips” to cultural institutions like museums and monuments.
In her pilot project, Frazier created a virtual reality experience at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. by shooting 360° video. She enlisted the help of her former students to test her first prototype at the school where she once taught.
“My students are excited about the project. Many at my school are English Language Learners so I was thrilled to have two of my former students help me record audio in Spanish & English to better serve the students there.”
Frazier founded Curated x Kai last year and the interest she’s built up, from students to the tech community, has gone beyond her wildest dreams.
“Museums tend to think about inclusivity and representation as an afterthought, not a priority,” She said. “As far as technology, most thought it would help close the education gap, but technological advances make it to underserved communities last, if it ever makes it at all.”
She’s determined to change that. But the technology is just a vehicle for Frazier’s larger mission: To give students and people of color role models in both history lessons and in the present-day making and preserving of history.
In her own business, Frazier is constantly dreaming big. Recently, she created a fundraising campaign to prepare for South x Southwest as Curated x Kai has been selected to participate in their Tech Startup Spotlight in March. Frazier is an incoming member of the leadership team for Media & Technology, one of the American Alliance of Museums’ 21 Professional Networks. Through her own story, she is showing students that their diverse experiences are essential in cultural spaces.
“Students can’t aspire to something, if they don’t know it exists. I hope Curated x Kai brings the much needed exposure to students so they can explore new ideas and opportunities,” she said.
Correction: This post has been updated with the American Alliance of Museums' new terminology for professional networks to note that Frazier is a member of the leadership team for Media & Technology.
