By Joaquin Aguilar-Flores, KFCS media relations specialist
Two years ago, alumni and valedictorian at Klamath Union High School, Linnea Gebauer, earned second place in the C-Span Student Cam Film Competition. Gebaeur’s video gained national recognition.
Gebauer was recognized for her standout video during Klamath Union’s awards night, held annually at the end of the school year. This year, Klamath Union Career and Technical Education Digital Media instructor, Dan Stearns, knew he needed more time to recognize his students' efforts and held a C-SPAN KU Digital Media Film Awards Night for the first time at Klamath Union Thursday night.
The event recognized countless awards KU Digital Media has earned this year. Among the audience included countless elected officials in Klamath Falls and in the state of Oregon, as well as representatives from C-SPAN.
Klamath Falls Mayor, Carol Westfall, began the event congratulating Stearns and his program. The theme of the night soon became clear as representative after representative acknowledged Stearns and his students for their videos.
In attendance at the event was City Manager Jonathan Teichert, Creative Services Director from KOBI-TV, Scott Gee, Klamath County Commissioner, Derrick DeGroot, Director of Communications at Klamath Basin Behavioral Health, Abbie McClung, Group VP, State Government Affairs, from Spectrum, Keri Askew Bailey, Education Specialist from the Oregon Department of Education, Raquel Gwynn, State Representative, Emily McIntire and Dean of Instruction, Digital Media at Klamath Community College, Monica Bilka.
Recently, KU Digital Media students completed a video project for the City of Klamath Falls Sanitation Department. Klamath Union students, Braden Dawson and Logan Norton, put together the video, Pipes Don’t Like Wipes.
An annual competition the digital media program enters films for is the KOBI-TV Super Positive Video Commercial Contest. Klamath Union junior, Jenae Rhine, was recognized for her third-place video, You Are Not Alone.
Stearns and his students have built a long-standing relationship with KBBH and its annual Suicide Prevention Film Competition. Klamath Union has entered a video every year since the competition began in 2018.
Accompanying McClung was Outreach Coordinator at KBBH, Jennifer Scott, who also took a moment to congratulate and award three standout Pelicans.
Rhine took third place in the suicide prevention contest, while KU freshman, Dallin Petersen, with his video, Look a Little Closer, earned second place in the KBBH contest. Klamath Union senior, Mia Hidden, earned first place in the competition with her video, Warning Signs.
Stearns and Klamath Union junior, Emily Wiley, hosted Thursday’s event. Wiley accepted the first-place award on behalf of Hidden, who was competing at the state Oregon High School Equestrian Teams competition.
Askew Bailey traveled the farthest to make the awards night and during her moment to speak, announced Spectrum doubled the amount of money Klamath Union students earned for their videos in the C-Span contest.
“Teachers like Dan dedicate their careers to empowering students to discover their passions and hone their skills and creativity,” Askew Bailey said. “They provide opportunities for students to gain exposure to new things and embark on new endeavors.”
Bryce Petersen for his video, Political Polarization of America and Hidden, for her video, Regenerative Farming, earned honorable mention in the C-SPAN competition. All three of Klamath Union’s entries were in the top 150 out of over 3,000 entries.
Freshman, Elsie Baumann, earned a remarkable honor for her video, Keystone Species, which earned her third place in the competition’s High School West Division, the same competition Gebauer earned runner-up in.
Standing away from the spotlight was Charter Communications Government & Community Strategy Director, Adrianne Sears, and Chuck Deister, Director, Government Affairs at Charter Communications. Stearns gave credit to Sears and Deister for helping bring the many representatives to KU.
Stearns was adamant Gwynn and McIntire take part in the awards night after he helped earn the Klamath Falls City Schools Klamath Union High School Media Entrepreneurial Enterprises grant for $249,755 back in January.
McIntire visited with Stearns and his classes during the school day.
“I am leaving here tonight with a hope I don’t believe I had when I walked into these doors. Seeing these videos, hearing the messages is something I am taking with me as I walk through these doors,” McIntire said. “For those of you who created these videos, you’re our future, and if you’re our future, our future is in good hands.”
