>> JOEL RIVERA HAD NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS DOING WHEN HE ACCEPTED AN
OFFER FOR EXTRA CREDIT BY HIS HISTORY TEACHER TO CREATE A
VIDEO.
THAT DECISION EVENTUALLY LED HIM TO WGBY WHERE HE WAS ASSIGNED TO
THE LATINO YOUTH MEDIA INSTITUTE IN FACILITATING WORKSHOPS THAT
TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO TELL THEIR OWN STORIES.
THIS SUMMER HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT, AS THE
PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO PRODUCE STORIES THAT DEALT WITH
HURRICANE MARIA, A TOPIC WHICH HIT CLOSE TO HOME FOR MANY OF
THEM.
ALEJANDRO CAMERON BRINGS US THE STORY.
>> THE WAY I GOT INTO MAKING VIDEOS WAS I WAS FAILING
HISTORY, OUT OF ALL CLASSES IT WAS HISTORY WHICH IS MY FAVORITE
CLASS.
AND THE PROFESSOR BASICALLY TOLD ME, IF YOU MAKE A VIDEO, I'M
GOING TO PASS YOU.
SO I MADE A VIDEO, NO QUESTIONS ASKED, JUST DELETED EVERYTHING
OFF MY PHONE, I USED THE I MOVIE PROGRAM ON MY PHONE.
AND I MADE MY FIRST VIDEO JUST LIKE THAT.
VERONICA CONNECTED WITH ME AND ASKED ME TO BE PART OF THIS
PROGRAM.
MY FIRST SUMMER THEY JUST THREW US OUT THERE, THEY TAUGHT US HOW
TO USE THE CAMERAS, THE EQUIPMENT, THEN LET US FREE
ROAM.
THE STORY I MADE THAT WENT ON AIR WAS REALLY REALLY LAST
MINUTE.
VERONICA TEXTED ME, SHE SAID SHE NEEDED SOMETHING TO FILL, AND
SHE GAVE ME LIKE A TIME AND TOLD ME THE TOPIC, AND IT WAS
DEPRESSION.
AND I WENT AND I ASKED PEOPLE AND NOBODY REALLY WANTED TO
SHARE, SO I WAS LIKE I NEED TO STEP UP AND TELL MY OWN STORY.
AND I ENDED UP SHARING MY OWN STORY ON DEPRESSION AND BRINGING
AWARENESS TO WHAT DEPRESSION REALLY IS.
AND THEN VERONICA ENDED UP AIRING IT, LIKE IT ENDED UP
BEING ON TV, WHEN IT AIRED I THINK MY COUSINS WERE WATCHING
AND THEY SENT ME ON SNAPCHAT, LOOK YOU'RE ON TV, YEAH I'M
PROUD OF THAT.
THIS SUMMER WAS DIFFERENT, THIS SUMMER WE WERE FOCUSED ON
BRINGING AWARENESS.
WE WERE MORE FOCUSED ON LEARNING ABOUT OURSELVES AND TELLING OUR
OWN STORY, SO THAT WE CAN GO OUT AND TELL OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES.
THAT'S, AND SO WE WENT TO CENTRO DOWN IN NEW YORK.
>> CENTRO IS A UNIVERSITY BASE, RESEARCH INSTITUTE, DEDICATED TO
RESEARCH AND TO SERVE AND COLLECT ARTIFACTS OF THE PUERTO
RICON EXPERIENCE.
>> IF E ARE HERE TO DISSEMINATE WHAT IT IS, WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT
THE HISTORY AND CULTURE, THE BEST WAY TO DO IT IS TO INSTRUCT
IT TO THE NEXT GENERATION, YOUNG STUDENTS WHO ARE EAGER TO LEARN
ABOUT PUERTO RICO HISTORY AND CULTURE.
>> IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I HAD NOTICED IN MYSELF BEFORE, LIKE
I'M NOT MATURE ENOUGH TO GO TO COLLEGE, BUT I'M MATURE ENOUGH
TO MAKE THE DECISION THAT I'M NOT MATURE ENOUGH.
I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY WEIRD FOR SAYING THAT, I THOUGHT OKAY,
I'M MATURE ENOUGH FOR THIS AND NOT FOR THAT.
AND SHE SAID WOW, THAT'S REALLY A MATURE WAY TO THINK, BUT I
EXPECTED TO GO TO COLLEGE EVENTUALLY, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT
THAT WAS REALLY COOL.
WE HAD SO MANY RESOURCE THIS IS YEAR THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE LAST
YEAR AND IT WAS WAY MORE FAST PACED, LIKE DO THIS, DO THAT, DO
THIS, DO THAT.
TO GET THE FINAL PRODUCT.
AND THE FINAL PRODUCT INSTEAD OF BEING SOMETHING RANDOM IT WAS
SOMETHING THAT HAD SUBSTANCE TO IT, SOMETHING THAT WAS BIGGER
THAN OURSELVES.
SECRETARY COSTA CAME AND WAS KIND OF BLOWN AWAY BY WHAT SOME
KIDS WERE DOING HERE IN THE STUDIO.
AND I THINK THAT WAS SUPER COOL, LIKE WE'RE JUST KIDS, BUT SHE
SAW MORE IN US.
WE WERE KIND OF THE FUTURE, SHE DESCRIBED US AS THE FUTURE.
SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY COOL.
I JUST HAD TO DO A PANEL DISCUSSION ON THE STATEHOOD OF
PUERTO RICO AND THAT WAS MORE AUTHENTIC AND RAW, I DIDN'T WANT
IT TO BE SCRIPTED.
>> I OPENED THE DOOR AND THE WIND ALMOST TOOK ME OFF THE
APARTMENT, MY GRANDMOTHER HAD TO HELP ME CLOSE THE DOOR.
>> SO I ASKED PEOPLE TO COME IN, THEY DIDN'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE
TOPIC, BUT I ALREADY ASKED THEM A FEW QUESTIONS JUST TO KNOW IF
THEY WERE A GOOD FIT.
THEY WOULD COME INTO THE CIRCLE AND THEY WOULD SAY WHY THEY
AGREED WITH THE STATEMENT AND THEN ONCE THAT CONVERSATION WAS
OVER, THE PEOPLE AT -- CAME IN AND TRIED TO REACH A
POINT OF UNDERSTANDING AMONG THEMSELVES.
ONE OF MY MAJOR TAKE AWAYS FROM THIS SUMMER WAS PATIENCE.
LEARNING PATIENCE, LEARNING TO BE PATIENT.
BEING PATIENT WITHIN CONVERSATIONS, I THINK THAT WAS
REALLY MY BIG TAKE AWAY FROM THE SUMMER.
BECAUSE BEING YOUNG, SOME PEOPLE DON'T TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY.
THEN YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH THEIR IGNORANCE, BUT THEN AGAIN YOU
CAN'T BE IGNORANT.
SO THAT'S WHEN YOU HAVE TO REALLY SHOW YOUR MATURITY AND BE
PATIENT WITH THOSE PEOPLE.