I think video production classes should be taught in every high school. Why you may ask? They give students the chance to work with their passions and make stories that spark the interests of others. Let me share my experience and let you decide.
I took an opportunity to go to Cuyahoga Valley Career Center, where they offer a media production program called “Media Arts”. This program gave me a chance to start working out of high school instead of taking the “normal” route and going to college. Offering a media production class opened my eyes to see how professionals work in the field.
My teacher, Mr. VanTilburg, nicknamed VT, was vital to my development. He didn’t mess around and he made us professionals. You had to show up 5 minutes early or you’re late, always be in uniform, and to take class seriously, like it was a real job.
After my first year, I wasn’t planning on going back, but I powered through, and I’m glad I did. My junior year and senior year were completely different. Thinking back, it seemed like VT wanted to weed out all the fish who were in the class to get out of regular school. In my first year we had a full class of 24 kids. By the second year, there were about 10 of us, and the class got 100 times better. We each discovered our niche and dug into our passions. VT makes video production feel fun and less like a job.
He encouraged us to go out and try to get an internship. Luckily, I managed to get 2 different internships through his connections in media production in Cleveland and Akron. One of those internships is where I work now. Jumpstart Video.
The video production class gave me skills that transferred to my internship–eventually landing me a position on the Jumpstart Video team. If you’re thinking about going to a trade school, do it. 100%. There is nothing I regret about going and without it I would have never gotten work right out of school, debt free. Thanks to Mr. VanTilburg and the whole CVCC school, I work a job that I look forward to going to everyday.