The Film School Drop-in

Transcript

Now we’re gonna meet Shawn, a student from Estrella Mountain Community College located in the West Valley. Shawn has had a lifelong passion for filmmaking, but college and film school wasn’t for him or so he thought. Let’s get the detail straight from Shawn. Ready? Action.

– Thank you, Alex. Growing up in Chicago, I loved everything film. I loved dressing up and costumes and performing for my family. Ever since I was five years old, I knew it was the one thing that made me genuinely happy. At 18, I dropped out of high school to shoot a feature film as a lead character. Ever since that experience, my desire to do films heightened more. I eventually got my high school diploma and decided to take my mom’s advice and try college out for a year. Estrella Mountain Community College made sure I felt secure in my decision to go back to school at the age of 21, and made sure I had every resource available to help me enjoy my freshman year. After picking my classes with my advisor, I was actually surprised at how much I was looking forward to my upcoming school year. Estrella does a great job at showing how fun college can be for students, such as myself. We used to think otherwise. I find myself looking forward to classes and to hearing from my teachers about the projects we were working on. Estrella’s Art Center lives right across the street from the main campus where there are tons of plays and short films created by students. This is an amazing community for those who’ve taken interest in anything that has to do with film or acting. In the past, there have been many schools that have overlooked art programs, but Estrella makes sure to include this Art Center because they understand the value of letting students be creative. Estrella Mountain Community College has taught me to never be afraid of trying something new. As mentioned before, I wasn’t too keen about the idea of going to college. I put it off as something that was not for me, but attending Estrella Community College helped boost my confidence. It helped me connect more with my peers and it let me see just how engaging school can be when I enjoy each of my classes. Well, that’s my story. Back to you, Alex.

– Shawn, it is awesome how attending Estrella Mountain taught you to get out there and experience life and not hold back, particularly when it comes to your art. We can’t wait to see you at a film festival or on the red carpet someday soon. Good luck Shawn, and we’ll be watching.