LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i High School junior Natalie Lett had six hours to produce and edit a minute-long business feature story.
Lett, who got her prompt at 9 a.m., faced rejection after rejection from local businesses she wanted to interview.
But, despite her initial struggles, Lett continued to push herself during the 2022 Student Television Network (STN) National Convention that was held over the President’s Day weekend, where she placed first in the Multimedia Journalist category for her story on Le‘ahi Health smoothies and how they use social media to “get the word out.”
About 185 Hawai‘i students from 17 Hawai‘i public schools congregated on O‘ahu at a satellite site at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort to compete in onsite media competitions. Students participated in 20 different categories, competing in various ways to build an anchor reel and motion graphics, produce a music video, fictional movie trailer, commercial, public service announcement and short film under strict deadlines against students from across the nation.
Last week, the STN competition was done in a hybrid virtual and in-person ceremony from Long Beach, California, where Lett also acted as a presenter.
And while not all of the Kaua‘i High School students placed, all finished their projects in the given time, which is a feat all on its own, teacher Leah Aiwohi said.
Sophomore Logan Campbell and his team, which comprised of Stella Blanchard and Makayla Karimi, said STN was a learning opportunity.
Campbell said the team messed up the audio while filming their horror-themed short film, but remembered back to some of the skills Aiwohi had taught him to figure out a way to correct it in post-production.
But it wasn’t just technical skills, Karimi reported that they also had the opportunity to work on their communication with each other, which fellow classmates Via Javinar and Garbriel Go agreed with.
“The students and teachers who participated in this rigorous competition definitely represented their schools and our entire state well, and we’re so proud of each of them,” Hawai‘i Department of Education Interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi said. “We’re thrilled that our students had an opportunity to share their creativity and digital media skills with their counterparts across the nation. It’s these authentic learning experiences that help develop and build the critical skills needed for our future workforce, in creative media and other high-demand sectors.”
HIDOE schools won 31 awards for work produced during the onsite competitions.
Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School eighth-grader David Braman and his three teammates took first place in the commercial category.
Teams were given the prompt “activewear” and were tasked with producing a product commercial.
“As soon as I heard the ‘Ch’ for Chiefess, it was just, boom,” Braman said. “We have a great team. We did it and it was awesome.”
After participating in last year’s fully virtual STN conference, he enjoyed the opportunity to be with other Hawai‘i students this year.
“Being here, the energy is so much better. This felt like my first real STN,” he said. “Ever since elementary school, I’ve been dreaming about doing STN because I have older friends that have gone to the annual competitions. … Getting to bond was amazing. The winning was a nice bonus.”
Students also had the opportunity to participate in educational workshops sponsored by PBS Hawai‘i’s HIKI NO statewide student news program during the convention.
“Year after year, our HIKI NO students have made Hawai‘i proud by showcasing their talents on a national stage at the annual STN competition, taking home a disproportionate number awards compared to highly populated states such as California and Texas,” Ron Mizutani, PBS Hawai‘i President and CEO, said. “HIDOE did a great service by bringing this national competition to our state, for the very first time, in the form of the Hawai‘i-Hub STN Conference. It is gratifying to see the joy on the faces of these students as they compete.”
