I’m Brooke Meyer and I’m the Social Media and Marketing Manager of WACS News, as well as one of the anchors for our morning show The Breakfast Blend.  This was my first year on the WACS News team and it certainly won’t be my last.  Taking this course was a very last minute decision.  I was not originally able to fit this class into my schedule when I signed up for my Junior year courses.  Luckily, the first week of the year I was able to rearrange my schedule to make this class a perfect fit and I’m so glad I did.  I’ve been a fan of WACS News ever since I was little.  I remember watching it on TV and seeing the reporters come to my school for their stories.  I even got the opportunity to be in one.  It’s crazy to look back on wanting to be apart of the WACS News team when I was so young and now actually being able to be an anchor for it.  I am already signed up to take the course for my senior year and I hope to continue anchoring.

When starting this course I was just the Social Media and Marketing Manager which  means I’m in charge of making graphics, posting on social media, and making promos.  My favorite project I’ve done was actually one of my first.  This year was one of the most exciting homecoming weeks Alden High School has had in awhile.  To promote this week and give everyone the latest homecoming stories, WACS News created a snapchat, which I got to post on throughout the week. I also got the opportunity to report live from the tailgate and the homecoming game on Friday and promote the snapchat filter we had for the day.  Everyone’s excitement and the school’s spirit and involvement made that project my favorite.

I also really enjoyed making promos and parodies. My favorite was our first show opener, which was a parody to the classic show “The Office”.  I really got to work on my filming skills and learn how to pay attention to detail to make it so close to the original. The next promo I helped plan was our take on the Mannequin Challenge.  This video was a big hit and it was a cool experience being able to put it all together in the last half of the block and have the whole class involved.  After that I went on to making our christmas promo called “School Alone”.  It was inspired by the classic Christmas movie “Home Alone”.  I really enjoyed making this video because it starred our producer Dylan Kiener and I even got to make a small appearance in the video myself. The last promo I made was inspired by old mentos commercials from the 90s.  The idea came from our teacher Mr. Currin who also edited the video.  I got to come up with the concept and film the video.  I even went as far as making a new label for a Mentos wrapper and naming is “Wacstos”.  

I got to give being on camera a try at the Curriculum Showcase where I did an “In the Halls”.  I asked parents and students to not talk into the microphone and they’d win a prize.  Sounds easy, right? Well it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. While many people won their prize of their choice of either a pen or a welding CD, several people lost the game.  After making this video I realized I really enjoyed being on camera and wanted to be an anchor. Towards the second half of the year, my class changed our episode format to create The Breakfast Blend.  I was then promoted to also be an anchor alongside Peyton Zelasko and Carl Aldinger.  I had a rough start when it came to anchoring to say the least. I discovered that reading from a teleprompter is a lot harder than it looks and it’s really important to practice the script before filming.  Being an anchor made me feel behind in the class because I never had to write stories or edit videos so catching up was quite the challenge and I’m still working on it but I’m definitely improving.

I would without a doubt recommend this class to other students.  You have the opportunity to work independently and in a different setting from the traditional classroom.  This class may seem like all fun and games, which it is fun, but it definitely isn’t a blow-off class.  Putting in work outside of class is definitely required, but my best advice for this class is to manage your time wisely.  You’re given about five days a cycle to write a story and create and edit a video which may seem like a lot of time but your procrastination can easily get the best of you.  What I struggled with most was getting my videos in on time by the end of the news cycle.  Between writing the script for the newscast, taking a whole block to film the episode, as well as writing, filming, and editing my Brookertainment segment, I definitely missed deadlines and produced videos that weren’t my best work but I’m learning from my mistakes and budgeting my time by setting personal deadlines for myself to keep myself on track.

Throughout the year I improved on many skills that I definitely would not have if I didn’t take this course.  I learned how to film videos, edit them in imovie, make graphics using fireworks, and much more.  WACS News is a vital part of our school because it provides a place for students to stay informed on what’s going on around them.  It also gives recognition to students and activities that deserve them whether that be in sports, theatre, clubs, or academics.  WACS News is also an important part of our community because it keeps the town updated on events and what’s happening in the schools.  My experience on the WACS News team this year has been a great one and I’m very proud to say I got to be apart of it.  This class definitely gave me more confidence in myself on camera and in my day to day life.  My junior year would not be as great as it was if it wasn’t for this class and I’m looking forward to it being one of the highlights of my senior year.