What I learned in TV/Media Class

The NHS-TV program has helped me discover things about myself that otherwise I would not have realized. Mr. Brunt and NHS-TV has given me a whole new outlet in which I have been able to express myself to the fullest. When I applied for the “Introduction to Communications” class in 8th grade around this time four years ago, I did not know I would end up where I am today. On May 8th, I was named the 2018-19 NHS-TV student of the year. The NHS-TV student of the year requirements were for an NHS-TV student who went above and beyond for the program. But, in 8th grade I had no idea I would amount to anything in the class, especially an award of such high honor. Throughout, middle and early high school I was teased and made fun of for making videos and posting them to YouTube. Growing up, I was always different from everybody else. I started dancing in second grade, and I always tended to be more outgoing than my peers. I was not afraid to stand out in a crowd and I usually tried my hardest to stick out. Putting myself on every platform available increased my vulnerability and often led to ridicule. Facing ridicule from a young age for being different, instead of forcing me to conform, motivated me to embrace my outgoing and energetic personality to be an on-camera presence. In the NHS-TV program I have been able to be comfortable with myself fully. I am no longer nervous to speak to large groups of people at school, in sports, or sometimes in conferences I’ve been lucky enough to attend. I have truly sparked a lifelong interest with the skills I have learned, developed, and improved on each and everyday in my 4 years in the TV program.

In my freshman year I was not familiar with all the camera and audio equipment but, I was very comfortable computers and graphics. I excelled immediately in the photoshop graphics unit. After quickly completing the assignment just seconds after Mr. Brunt finished with a brief overview of the tools. I quickly got up and helped others around the room with the different functions of Photoshop (and probably criticized their graphics). This moment is when I think I got Brunts attention. Shortly after going through the “modules” my freshman year I headed into sophomore year and continued to help people around the classroom and volunteered for many outside of school events. I gained respect by the end of the year from my peers and was named a Technical Department head in the NHS-TV program my junior year. This title was my first real leadership position of my life. As a technical director, I learned a lot about leading a group, spreading out responsibilities, and working together to meet a common goal. These are skills that I value everyday in school, sports, and work. I remember checking in with Xavier Cullen and Austin Reardon to make sure we had graphics laid out for special editions of NHS Update. I made a list of holidays and all three of us signed up for certain graphics we would make to show on the monitors during the show. From this, I learned that leadership is more than just telling people what to do. It is the whole process of having an idea, devising a plan to execute the idea, executing towards the product, and completing the goal.

Being part of NHS-TV was more than just learning cliché life skills. Being part of this program was like being part of a big family sometimes. After attending the STN convention in Nashville, Tennessee my junior year, I became close with my NHS-TV classmates, that heading in to high school, I never thought I would have been friends with. Being close to these classmates allowed me to find out what other people in the class were good at by seeing it.

In my senior year I used my classmates skills in combination with my own to help make my segments better. To illustrate, I made a UStangs_Sports top 5 features and I knew Tim Rose and Robert Bussiere were good at analyzing segments because of their famous, “Mustang Movie Minute” segment which has gained local and national traction. I asked them to analyze a few of the 100 blogs on UStangs.com and rank them. They helped decide that Matt Brown’s Unexpected Course story was number one and even provided a description of their thought process to why they chose the segment. I used their description as reasoning in my script.

Being part of NHS-TV has meant more to me than just a class or a grade, it is my lifelong passion to do the things I learned in Room 106. I hope to leave a legacy in the program as a hard worker who learned from others and did it in the right way. Maybe one day I can accredit my successes to Mr. Brunt and the NHS-TV program that has taught me those important lessons that will stay with me for a lifetime. Reporting for Mustang Magazine, I’m Joe Spadorcia.