Hello! For the past two years I have had the privilege to be surrounded by creative and ambitious peers and mentors. The people I’ve met here at Freestyle have fostered my interests in creative direction, cinematography, and design.
The Yummy Podcast
During the podcasting unit in my senior year, I teamed up with my good friend Ari to create a podcast. . . about yogurt!
Why make a podcast? Chances are you’ve taken over 12+ English classes or at least a handful if you did not grow up in America. Youth voices are vital in the exchange of free speech; We are powerful storytellers. Yet, almost none of the research papers or short narratives we write see the light of day past our teacher’s desk. Our motivation to contribute to on-going dialogue in the “real world” is watered by half-hearted essays. I always had trouble liking English in high school because my motivation to use my voice was watered down by writing essays that had little meaning to me.
We are powerful storytellers. Yet, almost none of the research papers or short narratives we write see the light of day past our teacher’s desk.
The podcasting unit, however, was an exciting opportunity to collaborate and create. Ari and I shared many laughs and agonized over our script for hours.
Podcasts are an appealing medium to a wide range of people and easily accessible. This project was a challenge: as a visual storyteller it’s difficult to think purely in terms of sound and word. But the payoff? A product suited to truly have our voices heard.
About the Podcasters. . .
Katherine’s favorite yogurt growing up was Yoplait whipped strawberry. However, she is now lactose-intolerant (sad), but like any other lactose-intolerant still makes a routine sacrifice for cheese. In her free time Katherine enjoys –
Ari secretly doesn’t really like yogurt (I mean it’s okay, I’m not obsessed with it), yet here he is creating a podcast about yogurt. In his free time Ari enjoys going home and eating Captain Crunch cereal when he told his friends he’s “Omw!”
Looking Back
I’m proud of this product because it is a balance between professionalism and humor. Ari and I’s collaboration excelled as we encountered successes and failures to create The Yummy Podcast. I’ll cherish the uncomfortable, but gratifying moment in English class of our peers erupting in laughter as we give kudos to Mr. Greco’s (our english teacher) favorite yogurt.
Hazy Truth: The Vaping Epidemic and Youth Nicotine Addiction
I used to laugh at the sight of my friends puffing out minty or fruity flavored smoke from a USB-looking device they just couldn’t let go.
It feels like half of teenagers are addicted to a device that looks like some USB stick, and the other half laughs at their friends for their inability to part from their vaping device. A meme culture had arisen from a culture of addiction. How can we take addiction seriously if ignorant humor is blindly attached to it?
My friend Kate Ahrens and I shared similar concerns for our friends and feelings of confusion. Together, we began to uncover the hazy truth behind the vaping industry and addiction itself.
Although I began research on nicotine addiction purely out curiosity, and with a pre-assumption that nicotine addiction was a joke, the further I dug, the more astounding the facts became. Nicotine addiction was just declared a vaping youth epidemic by the FDA in 2017. The further into the process of research, the more important it became for me to produce a documentary that was not facetious, but real and candid.
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A vaping youth epidemic
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Hazy Truth – Documentary Film
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