As Carrollton launches its Digital Storytelling Studio and works toward broadcasting morning news for the first time, students and faculty are working together to build a new program focused on storytelling, media, and collaboration. The club is led by TV executive Raphael Rodriguez, who brings extensive experience in the media industry and is guiding students as they develop their skills. “I’ve been a producer and network executive for over twenty years and have worked at a variety of cable networks and streamers,” he said. In addition to leading the club, Mr. Rodriguez will be teaching Summer Scholars courses focused on digital storytelling.
Arianna Frances ‘28, one of the students helping bring broadcasting to campus, said she was inspired by her past experience. “I did broadcasting at my old school. I had a lot of good memories doing it there, and I just wanted to make more here,” she said.
She explained that her previous involvement included competitions and teamwork. “My old team and I would go to Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA) and Student Television Network (STN) [conferences]. We would do the broadcasting competitions. It was really fun, and it was just very awesome to work together as a team.”
At Carrollton, Frances wanted to create a similar experience while helping improve the school’s media presence. “I wanted to start doing broadcasting…I wanted to have some consistency…because I feel like Carrollton should have a much more advanced broadcasting [program].” Along with current club projects, starting regular morning announcements is something she hopes to help develop in the future.
“Trying to get everything approved and finding time to actually work on it” is one of the hardest parts of broadcasting, said Frances. Despite this, she says the collaborative aspect makes it easier. “My favorite part about beginning to plan broadcasting morning news at Carrollton is the people that I get to work with.”
She emphasized that while broadcasting requires effort, it is rewarding. “It does take a lot of work sometimes, but it’s very worth it. If you’re interested, you should just go for it.”
Broadcasting also stretches students creatively. “One of the biggest challenges for students is learning how to take an idea and shape it into a clear story that other people can understand and connect with,” said Mr. Rodriguez. However, he believes Carrollton students are well-suited for this kind of creative work. “Carrollton is full of curious and creative students who are well-equipped for storytelling and visual expression.” And, he said, storytelling is an essential skill for the future. “Storytelling is such an important part of how we understand the world today.”
For him, the most rewarding part is seeing students grow. “My favorite part is watching students discover their voice as storytellers,” he said.
This year, both students and adults are working together to build a program that gives students a voice and a platform to share their stories through a new format. Next semester, students will also have the opportunity to take the Digital Storytelling elective taught by Upper School visual arts teacher Mr. Gray and a co-teacher.
Everyone is welcome to explore this area, even if they do not have a lot of experience in this field. “If you enjoy asking questions and being creative, there’s a place for you in this kind of work,” said Mr. Rodriguez.
