"Group Project Summary-Video"

"Group Project Summary-Video" Link... (low quality)

"Group Project Summary-Video" Link... (high quality)

Artist Statement

Over the course of the fall semester our Film 150 class discussed American diversity is terms of media representation. Using the information presented in our course materials, we took what we were learning and applied it to Service Learning with students from the Loyola Academy High School, on the South Side of Milwaukee. Through our efforts and experiences in class we were asked to piece together a blog, representing our building understanding of American diversity, in collaboration with our Service Learning efforts. Our blogs were to be filled with media rich content, artist’s statements, service learning journals, and other course assignments.

As far as completion concerning the Film 150 class I found the blogging process of the project surprisingly fun. I had no problem piecing together our projects, keeping up on journal response, and providing a media-rich, well-organized, page. On the other hand, what I did have trouble with was clearly collaborating with my small (project) group. Material and schedules were extremely unorganized, not too much you could never be certain who was going, or who would show up. I also find myself in situations where I couldn’t find a ride, and no ride meant a no-show.

At the same time, I appreciate the opportunity to explore a part of Milwaukee I rarely find myself in. The service learning experience really opened my eyes to the Milwaukee school system. Although Loyola is necessarily part of MPS, the urban educational environment was something I had zero experience with. I think it was a real eye-opener; the vast difference in terms of economic struggle here in Milwaukee is simply ridiculous. With a bit more structure to the Film 150 Service Learning portion of the course it could make for a priceless experience, for UWM and high school student alike.

The video link at the top of the post combines images of our groups central focus with the Loyola Students on the Cesar Chavez mural, created by the organization known as “True Skool,” and songs by the student’s favorite artists, based on their responses from our first collaborative assignment. My intentions were to create a short video that would summarize our experiences with Service Learning and the Film 150 classroom.