8 Team 2 – Erica
Team Erica conducted the interview of Alina Cordova. They collaborated with Erica Juarez-Ramos in the pre-production phase of the video, particularly, in the process of framing her story. Team Erica was then responsible for the production and post-production of the final video.
Mikayle Boswell
My name is Mikayle Boswell. I am a Black/African-American male. My pronouns are he, him, his. I am a Junior student currently studying Communication at the University of Washington. I have always been interested in media, but got more involved with it around high school. My academic interests are centered around the relationship between people and media, as well as understanding the process of media production. My personal interests include traveling, staying active, and hanging out. In this course (TCOM 347 B – Television Criticism and Application), I was able to learn about the significance of visual composition and applying different methods of shooting when utilizing cameras.
The Telling Our Stories Project gives students a voice on their educational journey and provides a perspective on the hardships that were presented. It reminded me that school work is not the only deterrent for education; but many other factors play a role in this. I hope this project opens the minds of our students and staff on the obstacles that were presented against our volunteers that participated in this project. Also, I hope it creates a path of support for future first generation students.
Joana Murphy
My name is Joana Murphy. I am a young Latina woman who identifies as cisgender. I use the pronouns she, her, hers. I am a first-generation student and grew up moving across the U.S. because I am part of a military family. I currently live in Tacoma and love it here. I am a senior at UW-T majoring in Communications. My academic interests revolve around understanding the relationship between media and culture, especially movies and TV shows.
Through the TCOM 347 -TV Criticism and Application course, I enjoyed understanding how media production can be a profound experience, especially understanding how a director functions in order to achieve particular results.
I had the opportunity to achieve such a profound media experience through the Telling Our Stories Project. Being able to see people who look like me, talk like me, and have the same sort of struggles, made me realize I’m not alone in this journey through academia. The representations of people of color at UW-Tacoma is significant in defining who we are and what we can bring to the world. I hope people get to see how we can be transformative when viewing the stories of this project.
Kokar Oldiais
My name is Kokar Oldiais, I am Palauan, born and raised in Palau. I am the youngest of three siblings and I have hopes to go back home to help promote my island’s visibility with the skills I learn here at UW-T. I am a Junior student majoring in Writing Studies. My academic interests require me to engage in projects with a creative mindset in order to develop new ways of creating content. The kinds of content I want to create include videos related to entertainment and advertisement. In this course (TCOM 347), I have had the chance to get hands-on experience in professional video production, and conduct and produce a video interview.
Through the making of the Telling Our Stories project, I have learned to see issues here at UW-T on a more concrete level. Meaning, that in order to find and fix an issue, we must examine the school as a structure supported by students and maintained by those in power. And those in power should not only be those in office but the students themselves, who through projects like this, demonstrate their power through voicing issues and deciding on them. I am glad to have been able to help create this story with a great group of people. The process has taught me as well that beyond the work and sacrifice we endure, we must also value the connections we make along the way. Hopefully through this video, connections can be made, either through agreement or disagreement; a connection made is a chance at a new perspective and a welcomed change.
