JarMarcus King loves to show off the technology at Reality Link Arena in Williamsburg.
The arena has the Dream Park Experience, a virtual reality game that transports kids into an animated world where they jump over obstacles such as fire and mushrooms. It has Omni Arena, a four-player immersive game made popular in the movie "Ready Player One." It also uses Microsoft HoloLens, which allows people to see holograms and to train clients in various technical fields.
King has partnered with Hampton City Schools for the iLab Summer Experience, a technology summer camp.
The camp includes robotics, artificial intelligence and augmented reality. King wants kids to learn how to turn new tech into a career.
“When I talk to kids, I tell them I don’t care what career path you go down; technology is going to be involved,” King said. “I’m always telling them how technology is applicable to what they want to do.”
King and his wife, Falana L. Dula-King, started the technology firm, J&F Alliance Group, in 2013. Both served in the Army and he worked in transportation and logistics. But his love of technology goes back to his childhood.
King would disassemble his gaming systems, such as his Nintendo, and his mother would make him put them back together. He soon learned the mechanics behind the designs.
After leaving the military, he worked for a private firm and was sent to Afghanistan and Iraq to install technology and train soldiers on how to use it in hostile environments.
His mission now is to make Reality Link Arena a resource center where students can participate in STEM, AI and drone pilot aviation workshops.
The Hampton school division has been working with King since 2017 and he sits on several advisory boards.
Educators often bring students to the Williamsburg center to play in the roam room, a virtual reality court. Erica Spencer, business engagement coordinator with Hampton schools, said the gaming center allows students and teachers to become comfortable with new technology.
“Students adapt to change quicker than we do,” Spencer said. “It’s really cool to step into the new technologies and see the kids work alongside JarMarcus to implement what the real-world application looks like.”
The Kings opened Reality Link Arena after the 2025 Department of Government Efficiency eliminated several of the Alliance's military contracts. Their company had to lay off about 90% of its staff, and the Kings opened the gaming center to help fill the void.
Hampton schools have more than 400 business partners that give students hands-on learning experiences.
King works with kids from kindergarten through 12th grade, and Spencer said it’s really cool to see how the tech education differs for each grade. The division bought J&F Alliance Group robotic kits for its career and technical education (CTE) classrooms, and they also teach the students coding.
“It’s all about exposure,” King said. “My goal is to educate them on opportunities they may not be aware of or know about.”
The summer camp is an extension of what the students learn in the CTE classrooms, said Seth Black, director of Hampton's career and technical education.
He enjoys seeing the diversity of the students and allowing them to see a world beyond their own. Black said seeing people like the Kings shows them what’s possible.
“The ideas the kids come up with are strong,” Black said. “We’re able to take kids out of their classrooms and give them a perspective that’s different from their teachers and parents.”