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Julio Rodriguez has been a part of the Epilepsy Foundation of Central & South Texas for the past three years. When he found out his now 11-year-old daughter was diagnosed with the disease, Julio and his family were looking for help.
Julio and Epilepsy Camp Director Ariel McCarter were at Northwest Vista College Thursday, Dec. 10 for the viewing of a public service announcement video created by NVC students.
“I consider myself a tough guy and don't cry, but I don't have the words to describe how happy I am after seeing this video,” said Julio, adding his daughter is very shy and doesn't like to talk about having epilepsy but the students got her to come out of her shell.
[image 2]Ariel added her nonprofit has limited staff and doesn't have the time to do a video project to help promote the organization's purpose. She plans to use the video in a campaign that will include promoting it on the organization's social media channels.
Both Julio and Ariel were in tears after viewing their video for the first time.
Along with the Epilepsy organization, the Family Service Association, Cibolo Nature Center & Farm and University Hospital were the groups chosen by 16 Digital Video & Cinema Production students, who had the task of negotiating with clients, coordinating the projects and delivering a finished video. Digital Video Coordinator Ron Wojnar, along with the student's instructor Tom Taylor, invited representatives from the community organizations to view the videos, along with campus leaders.
[image 3]Cheyenne Johnson, Cibolo's director of development, said her organization reaches thousands of people a year, but they don't have avenues to tell their story. This video, she added, gives them a way to tell the story of preserving and protecting the Herff Ranch that was established in 1852 by pioneer surgeon Dr. Ferdinand Herff.
NVC Student Tremanye McBride, who worked on the Cibolo video, said he was proud of his student team's dedication and commitment to this project. He added they went on many trips to the center that's located in Boerne in order to tell the story and produce a video that the client would be proud of.
The students who worked on the project for the Best Buy Teen Tech Center of The Family Service Association had the task of telling how important this center is to students ages 13-18 who use it after school. NVC students did a good job of capturing images of teens using the center's computer for graphic design and making robots as well as using its music studio.
[image 4]The student group who worked with nurses at University Hospital also added a warm touch to what could have been a video of the harsh realities of emergency care in a hospital. Many of the nurses in the video shared how they were impacted by patients going through something traumatic. They all told stories of going above and beyond what is necessary to help patients feel like family.
NVC President Dr. Ric Baser said the students' work was phenomenal and the opportunity they were given is an “experience seldom found at most colleges.”