Students Produce Video for Lawrence School

When Esperanza Academy in Lawrence, Mass. needed a video produced, Jacob Turner - assistant professor of communication arts and sciences at Merrimack College – saw it as a perfect opportunity for his students and the Academy.

Three of Turner’s students – Zachary Stevens ’13, Kassandra Martin ’13, and Glenna Mugavero ’12 - volunteered to spend several hours on site at Esperanza, learning about the school, interacting with the students, and capturing it all on film.

“Not only did the students experience what it’s like working for an outside client, they also witnessed the closeness of the students and staff at Esperanza, and were able to translate that into the video,” said Turner.

The students produced, directed, and edited the video with the help of Kevin Salemme, director of media instructional services at Merrimack. The video was shown at an auction for the school, and showcased the students of Esperanza and includes a segment where two current students of the Academy act as journalists interviewing fellow students and a math teacher. Other shots in the video include students learning in classrooms, and recreational activities such as soccer.

Zachary Stevens, freshman communication arts and science major at Merrimack:
“At first, I thought the video was just going to be a learning experience, but it became much more than that. I met a distinguished group of young girls that made my time at Esperanza and the editing room one I will never forget.”

Sara Turner, development officer at Esperanza Academy:
“We were thrilled to have the Merrimack students come to Esperanza Academy and work with the girls on creating a video. It was the perfect tool to introduce our newer guests to a day in the life of Esperanza Academy, and we loved having the Merrimack students run the project and serve as the best role models for our girls. As middle school students, our girls looked up to and were impressed by these college students who made time to work with them at Esperanza.”

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Photo Caption: Pictured here: (from left) Glenna Mugavero '12; Kassandra Martin '13; Zachary Stevens '13; Kevin Salemme, director of media services at Merrimack; and Jacob Turner, assistant professor of communication arts and sciences at Merrimack.