These students were all sitting patiently in the waiting room of Amador Valley High School’s first Local Leaders of the 20th Century Zoom meeting. Among this large group of students were a handful who, although not aware yet, were going to be united together in one of the four Local Leaders small groups this year - Video Media.
Video Media is one of the newly created Local Leader groups in response to the global pandemic. Because of its recent implementation, a notable amount of the soon-to-be members is returning veterans who were representative of a different group in previous years that was put on hold because of new distancing guidelines. Daniel Y. (12), who spent the last year in the Youth Outreach group, described the cancellation of Youth Outreach as “sad and disappointing but obviously inevitable”. He, in addition to Austin N. (12) both have individual reasons why they decided to participate in Video Media in light of group cancellations. Daniel remarked that he could “still interact with [younger kids] in a way if they decide to watch our videos” while Austin saw it as an opportunity to expand on a different passion he has experience in. However, both Daniel and Austin agreed that working with cameras, filming, and interviewing people was still one of their extremely enjoyable hobbies. Many of the new members felt the same way. Despite never having involvement in Local Leader groups, newcomers such as Anusha R. (11) immediately chose Video Media. She is representative of the students who already edit, animate, and vlog in their daily lives. Anusha hopes to create inspiring clips for others that rival the modern YouTube documentaries that inspired her passion for creating via the film medium. Other students, like Sophia Z. (11) already have experience editing videos for another nonprofit organization and are instead applying their skills to work for another worthy cause. At the moment, all Video Media creators are hard at work on their first project of the year - Video Essays. As Club President and Video Media Leader Collin W. (12) stated, “what makes our group and Local Leaders special is that [our projects] are going to be a lot more localized compared to the global issues that are already generally covered on many platforms.” Collin and his co-leader Amy W. specifically chose to start the year with something that “could spread information out in the most efficient way possible and has the most potential to be impactful in our community.” With this mantra in mind, the two Video Media leaders divided their team into 2 cohorts - one focusing on restaurants, and the other on sustainable shopping habits. Both groups will be conducting research and interviews and organizing their findings into an informative mini-documentary-esque video. The project's goal is to shed light on topics not frequently talked about and will incorporate localized information on concerns such as what materials Pleasanton restaurants use in packaging and other sustainability tips and facts on shopping habits. When asked about how they envision the final product to look, Dhruvi M. (11) said that the end product would be “very clean, like something you would see on National Geographic.” In addition to the thoroughly engaged members, Video Media leaders also expressed their obvious excitement at the “anticipation in seeing the final products in their final forms.” Of course, at the moment, much of the specifics in this creative process are all still up in the air. How and who interviews will be conducted with, where the videos will be filmed, and even the matter of how relatively antisocial teenagers are going to speak up, open their zoom camera, and socialize with the other 3-4 team members in their breakout room are concerns club leaders are pondering. Collin W. (12) admits that “things might seem a little bit disorganized with [our ideas] built from the ground up.” However, he also chimes in with “I know that I care and I know a whole lot of you guys care...as long as you just tell us how you’re feeling about things, we'll definitely listen and we’ll make sure this is a great club experience for everyone!” Aside from issues that are to be expected because of the unprecedented situation, it is clear that Video Media leaders and regular members alike are full of enthusiasm and willing to work diligently while still having a fantastic time toying with their interests and passion. As Dhruvi M. (11) so charmingly put it, “so far, I have absolutely no complaints!” Special thanks to Dhurvi Mehta, Anusha Rapuru, Sophia Z, Collin Wang, Austin Nicolas, and Daniel Yuan for participating in interviews!
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The journalism small group is so productive, and it actually feels like you are doing something. You have so many opportunities to collaborate with people you probably would not have met otherwise. I have made so many friends in this small group, and club meetings are always entertaining.
- Bavana Pydipati, Journalism Writers Head '24 Author:Local Leaders of the 21st Century Club Categories
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