Maya Gwynn
With KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, a show where we learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is Honey Cooper, a 10-year-old college student. So happy you're here, Honey.
Honey Cooper
Yeah.
Maya Gwynn
(laughs) That's appropriate. We've been talking already, and I've already loved talking to you. So, you go to both elementary school at Kimbark and college here at San Bernardino Valley College. What was your first day at college like? How did you feel?
Honey Cooper
I feel kind of nervous because I thought everyone would like kind of judge me, because, 'why is there a 10-year-old kid in our class?' I thought maybe they will probably like look at me, but it actually just went pretty well.
Maya Gwynn
Did people look at you though?
Honey Cooper
Not really.
Maya Gwynn
Not really? And when did you realize you first really loved art? Was it a painting or a book, or just drawing for fun?
Honey Cooper
It was just when I was like six, is where I just started drawing, and I really liked it, so I just kept on drawing and drawing, and then I started painting, but that kind of didn't last very long.
Maya Gwynn
Okay.
Honey Cooper
And then I just stick to drawing.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, what's your favorite thing you've ever drawn before?
Honey Cooper
I think this one person that I drew, pretty sure I named her Ella.
Maya Gwynn
And do your friends at your elementary school think it's cool that you go to college? What did you say when you told them? I'm so curious.
Honey Cooper
I didn't tell them, they saw me on the news.
Maya Gwynn
What? You didn't tell anybody?
Honey Cooper
No.
Maya Gwynn
What did they say when they saw you on the news?
Honey Cooper
They were like, oh my god, Honey, I saw you- I saw you on the news!
Maya Gwynn
What did you say?
Honey Cooper
I said, yeah, I am on the news.
Maya Gwynn
And did they think it was cool that you were in college?
Honey Cooper
Yeah, they thought it was very cool.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, and I read, because you've been in a lot of cool interviews, like you just said, you're on the news, that you also love theater and reading. When you're reading a book, or when you're performing in a play, do the stories ever give you ideas for drawings?
Honey Cooper
Yeah, they gave me some ideas for drawing, for example, at AMET we are doing Shrek Jr. The Musical.
Maya Gwynn
Shrek Jr.?
Honey Cooper
Yeah.
Maya Gwynn
Oh.
Honey Cooper
So I decided to draw my character, The Big Bad Wolf. And I think it really turned out pretty well.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, so in Shrek Jr, is it like his son?
Honey Cooper
It's like Shrek, it's just that there's more songs, and there's also like more changes.
Maya Gwynn
More changes in the story?
Honey Cooper
Yeah.
Maya Gwynn
Okay. I'm sure it's really funny, though, huh?
Honey Cooper
Yeah.
Maya Gwynn
I love Shrek. If we could fast forward 25 years in the future, so you're an old lady like me, and you see your life, what do you think a normal day in your life would look like? What do you think you'd be doing for work or just for fun?
Honey Cooper
I think I would be a surgeon, a fashion designer, or artist.
Maya Gwynn
Okay, why those things?
Honey Cooper
For the fashion designer it's because I really like how clothes can really describe a person's personality and what they like, what movies they watch, basically everything like that. And for artist, it's because, well, I already told you, I like drawing. I've been drawing since when I was six. And then, for the surgeon, it's because I want to save people's lives, because I want to be giving and caring for other people.
Maya Gwynn
I feel like maybe there's a world where you could do all three.
Honey Cooper
Yeah.
Maya Gwynn
So we're gonna go into our game. So, you've told me you've played Would You Rather before, right?
Honey Cooper
Yeah.
Maya Gwynn
Okay. Would you rather have your artwork displayed in a famous museum that everybody in the world can see, or you design a pair of sneakers that everybody wears, even more popular than Nike's? Everyone's like, 'Oh, I got the Honey Coopers.'
Honey Cooper
Yeah, I'll probably do, like, the shoe one.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, that's like street cred. I would do that too. Would you rather create a giant mural on the side of a building or design costumes for a big theater show on Broadway?
Honey Cooper
Oh, I think, like, kind of hard... make costumes.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, that'd be cool. And would you rather take an art class on the beach, with just like the wind blowing in your hair, or in the biggest tree house in the world, in the middle of the jungle?
Honey Cooper
Probably the beach one.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, because you don't want to be worried about animals. All right, if you had to give advice to any kids, maybe your age, that would want to take a college class, what would you tell them?
Honey Cooper
Always encourage others and never give up.
Maya Gwynn
Yeah, I love that. Thank you so much for being here, Honey.
Honey Cooper
Thank you for letting me come on your show.
Maya Gwynn
Of course. Honey Cooper is a 10-year-old college student. Find this segment and others at kvcr.org/bpie. Support for the segment comes from the Mecca IE Fund at the Inland Empire Community Foundation, advancing racial equity and supporting long term investments in Black-led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn. Thank you.
