The Value of Controlled Chaos
Community is an abstract noun. It means different things to different people, and can be interpreted in a variety of ways. For me, the word ‘community’ never signified members of a particular city or region; community represents a feeling of protection, camaraderie, and overall support within a group of people, no matter how small. Unlikely as it may seem, the broadcasting department at my high school has proven to be the most significant community in my life.
The first time I entered the mass communications classroom, my palms were sweating as I nervously attempted to lock eyes with someone familiar. No luck. A freshly-minted sixth grader, I had decided to branch out and visit the Middle School Broadcasting Club’s first meeting of the year; at this point, my social anxiety was leading me to regret it. All of a sudden, I heard an unfamiliar voice warmly beckon me into the room. Little did I know, that voice belonged to someone who would go on to become both a valued mentor and trusted adult throughout my high school career: my film teacher. Even as a wide-eyed eleven-year-old, I was welcomed into the broadcasting program with open arms. This welcoming atmosphere was highly indicative of the years to come.
Somehow, my high school’s broadcasting department managed to turn an inexperienced sixth-grade novice into the director of the football broadcasting program, a documentary filmmaker, and an Adobe Certified Associate in Premiere Pro.
This change was most instigated by my involvement in the football broadcasting program. Through collaboration and teamwork on the part of fifteen or twenty volunteer students, we livestream the games for audiences at home to watch each week during football season. This production is entirely planned and executed by students, something that we’ve always taken great pride in.
Beginning as early as my freshman year, I served as the pressbox liaison for our football broadcasting team. At that time, my role was to ease communications between announcers in the pressbox and the director in the control room to ensure that advertisements played cohesively. Two years later, I now sit in the director’s chair myself. No longer a liaison, I write the schedule, send communications to our ever-growing team, and coordinate with administrators and donors in order to prepare for the game each week. All of this, in addition to the tremendous responsibilities I hold during the actual livestream.
It’s a major leap, but certainly not an uncommon one.
Almost every student to filter through my school’s broadcasting program comes out competent, confident, and ready to take the media industry by storm. Teachers, administrators, and community members characterize our program as professional, consistent, and completely reliable.
Along with the extensive sports broadcasting services that we provide for the school district, we also complete client-based work throughout my small town in collaboration with both nonprofit and for-profit businesses. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to produce a real commercial for Raising Cane’s, a chicken finger restaurant chain in my region. That’s only one example of the incredible experiences afforded to students in the broadcasting family. Our program is one of my school’s largest claims to fame, and is only continuing to grow and expand as hundreds of students clamor to become involved every year. Our state-of-the-art television studio, audio lab, and control room are resources practically impossible to find in any other public high school.
I am beyond fortunate to attend a school that has not only a program for film and broadcast production, but also a plethora of resources to aid students as they develop their skills in the field.
Throughout the past six years of my involvement, I’ve developed advanced communication, multitasking, and stress management skills. Without this program, I doubt I would be pursuing broadcast television production as a career. I often wonder how many other students would benefit from a program like ours. Obviously, the tangible resources would be beneficial almost anywhere. But the glue that holds our program together isn’t something money can buy. It’s a love for the craft, a deep sense of ownership over our work, and the high standards we hold for ourselves and our peers that truly sets our program apart from any other.
I wish everyone was fortunate enough to share a community like mine.
Community means different things to different people. Stumbling upon this community has allowed me to discover a passion for the ordered chaos of both filmmaking and live event production. That passion is not only for the work itself, but also for the people I’ve met and the environment I’ve been exposed to as a result of my involvement.
