Cerritos College
Cerritos film students honored for their community service
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 27, 2012
Media Contact:Aya Abelon, Public Affairs; (562) 653-7878
NORWALK, Calif. - February 27, 2012 - Six students in the Cerritos College film class were honored with a certificate of appreciation on February 16 for producing public service announcements (PSAs) for the St. Francis Medical Center Trauma Department.
The students in the Television Production class produced these PSAs as a class assignment in an outreach effort of providing services to our local communities.
It all began with a phone call from Paul Carrillo, Injury Prevention Coordinator at the St. Francis Medical Center. He asked for help in producing anti-violence promos and visited the class last semester with associates from St. Francis as well as from Southern California Crossroads, a non-profit organization assists under-privileged youth who come from low-income families in violence-plagued communities.
In a short presentation, they inspired the whole class to produce PSAs in creating awareness of domestic and gang violence prevention. For most of the 17 students in class, it was their first video project.
"What was remarkable to see is how they brainstormed, work-shopped, pitched ideas to Paul Carrillo and his associates, then refined those ideas into 30 second messages and virtually produced the PSAs with very little supervision," said Professor Steven Hirohama.
The first-cuts by the 17 students were submitted for review in late October and then they were re-edited by the end of the fall semester. Eleven students completed the PSAs; an incredible achievement in the course of three months.
"I'm pleased that I got this certificate. Even though some will see it as just a piece of paper, it still means a lot to me," said Daniel Nieto.
Eighteen-year old Jocelyn Coleman produced a PSA on cyber-bullying. "The most challenging part of doing the PSA was finding a way to get the message through that would be potent enough and make an emotional appeal to viewers to see what really happens on an everyday basis and that it isn't just a joke."
The students who were presented certificates: Chayanne Acosta, Rodrigo Arzate, Jocelyn Coleman, Ryan Hickenbottom, Cristina Navarro and Daniel Nieto.
The PSAs are being used by the St. Francis Medical Center's Trauma Department to educate the community about violence; Youth Violence, Domestic Violence, Gang Violence, Bullying, etc. View the PSAs on youtube.com/sfmctrauma
Cerritos College serves as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County. Communities within the college's district include Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, and portions of Bell Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and South Gate. Cerritos College offers degrees and certificates in more than 180 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently averages 23,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at http://www.cerritos.edu/.
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