Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 11, 1 November 2003 — Award-winning program offers Waiʻanae students real-world multimedia experience [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Award-winning program offers Waiʻanae students real-world multimedia experience

By Sterling Kini Wong High school students dream of picture-per-fect vacation days like this: an endless blue sky and light tradewinds gently rolling across the Wai'anae Coast. Yet while most of his friends are sleeping in or planning a trip to the beach or mall, senior Chad Brown sits in a Wai'anae High School classroom, fixated on his computer, diligently editing a video that his multimedia program was contracted to produce for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Brown's program, Wai'anae High School's Searider Productions, is the most accomplished high school multimedia program in the state, winning numerous state and national media awards over the years, and instilling a passion for multimedia in the over 200 students currently enrolled in the program. Coordinator Candy Suiso said the program started in 1993, focusing on video production, but since then it has "snowballed" into an all-

encompassing multimedia program that now includes journalism, graphics and web design. "We wanted to teach students tools they ean use for the rest of their lives, not just technology tools, but life skills such as teamwork and respect for self and others," Suiso said.

Last year, thanks to a $400,000 Housing and Urban Development grant, the program's classroom was renovated and became the Wai'anae Coast Telecommunications Center, a joint project between 'Ōlelo Community Television, Leeward Community College, Wai'anae High School and several other organizations. The center is fully loaded with new computers, a studio set and video equipment. The students use the facility to produce a variety of multimedia productions that include: Ka Leo o Wai'anae, the school's eight-page newspaper; "Searider News," a 30-minute newsmagazine show that airs on 'Ōlelo on Sundays at 8:30 p.m.; "SPTV," a variety show that will follow the "Searider News" later this year; and the school's yearbook and web page. The students also produce music videos, documentaries, commercials and public service announcements. The 20-minute OHA video Brown was working See SEARIDER on page 16

Photo: Sterling Kini Wong

Searider Productions instructor John Allen III shows program students some tricks of the trade.

SEARIDERS from page 8 on during his school vacation is just one of several commercial projects the program has been hired to eomplete. They are also doing three 30second puhlie service announeements for the Hawai'i Medical Service Association and commereial spots for the Hawai'i State Teachers Association. Danielle Lum, the communications specialist for HSTA, said she is very impressed with the quality of the students work. "The people in the industry better watch their backs," she said. "These students will take your jobs because they do it better and cheaper" As a nonprofit, Searider Productions uses the money it earns to benefit the students. Money generated from past projects have provided stipends for the students and funded college scholarships for graduates, as well as allowing the class to attend national multimedia competitions on the continent. OHA Deputy Administrator Nani Lee said that the success of the students in the program is becoming a rallying point for the Wai'anae community, shattering the stereotypes of youth from that area. "These students are challenging

everyone's perceptions," Lee said. Keoni Fernandez, a 2003 graduate of Wai'anae High School and a former student in the program, said that the program helped him focus on school. He said that when he got involved with video, he realized the necessity of having good writing skills, so he stopped sleeping in his classes and began paying more attention to his grades. "If it wasn't for this program, I would be hanging out with the wrong crowd, I wouldn't have even thought about going to eollege," he said, shortly before he left last month to attend the Art Institute of California in Los Angeles. John Allen III, the program's technology advisor and a former cameraman at KGMB, said that the students are always hanging out in the classroom during luneh, after school and on weekends. They even slept over one night trying to make a deadline. And with the program moving into its new $1.4 million building in November and commercial projects lining up, the students ean probably expect to be there on many more late nights and beautiful vacation days. ■