Students Premiere Video at 'Mentoring Matters' Event

Published 04.02.2008

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A group of Pennsylvania College of Technology students premiered a video they created for local nonprofit clients at a "Mentoring Matters" event held on campus March 12.

The students, Jerry R. Caulkins, of Roulette; Timothy R. Cotter, of Saint Marys; Jonathan R. Hurr, of Franklin; and Jermaine L. Mitchell, of Williamsport, produced a seven-minute video for Mentoring Matters, which is a collaborative effort of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lycoming County, The Salvation Army Williamsport Corps and the West Branch Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission.

The group − all pursuing degrees in mass media communication − overcame a short production schedule and weather delays to complete the video just in time for its premiere at the event, which was organized by the three agencies to educate the community on the value of mentoring.

"It felt great to be a part of something that could really help make a difference in another person's life," Caulkins said.

The video featured testimonials from Big Brothers Big Sisters and Salvation Army mentors and those they mentored. Because West Branch Drug & Alcohol maintains the confidentiality of its mentoring clients, the students interviewed Lycoming County Court Judge Nancy Butts about the impact she thinks the programs have on the children involved.

"We conveyed the basic idea of telling the story of mentoring and how people could get involved," said Damon Anderson, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters. "The students went to work and created a video that built on our concept and took it to the next level.

"They created a professional video that captured what we needed to convey. Penn College is a rich resource that exists right in our community that should not be overlooked."

The students completed the project as a requirement for the Advanced Digital Media Production course taught by Bruce E. Huffman, instructor of media arts/video production. Students in the class work in teams to produce videos for various nonprofit clients. They work with the clients to develop a concept and do all taping and editing work, striving to meet clients' final approval.

"While this video was part of a class here at the college and does involve us getting a grade for it, this project was of great value to us because it gave us a large of amount of real-world experience while we are still in school," Cotter said. "It gave us the opportunity to work with real clients, have real deadlines and be in real-world situations that come up when you are making a video like this one.

"I think it also gave us the value of knowing that we help these organizations deliver the message that they needed to," he added.

Mentoring Matters will continue to use the video as a means to tell others in the community about the collaboration and why mentoring is important. The video will become part of a "road show" that is presented throughout Lycoming County.

"I found working on the video project for the Mentoring Matters group to be both challenging and very rewarding," Mitchell said. "I realize the importance to our clients to produce a video that would be both effective and entertaining to watch. I was happy that our clients were pleased with the video, which I helped make."

For more information about the mass media communications major and other academic programs offered by the School of Integrated Studies at Penn College, visit on the Web or call (570) 327-4521. To learn more about Penn College, visit online , e-mail or call toll-free (800) 367-9222.