Oyster Bay High School students document local seniors' life stories in short film project
Students at Oyster Bay High School recently partnered with senior members of the Life Enrichment Center in Oyster Bay for a meaningful intergenerational project, producing a series of mini biographical video news packages that captured remarkable personal histories.
The students, enrolled in multimedia journalism teacher Alex Dollin's Digital Reporting class, were each tasked with interviewing a senior citizen and producing a broadcast-quality video package. Over the course of several months, they applied professional journalism techniques throughout the process – from interview planning and on-camera filming to scriptwriting, narration and editing – transforming each conversation into a polished short film that blended journalism with documentary storytelling.
Four Life Enrichment Center members were featured: Bob Goodyear, Peggy Ricciardi, Inge Amian and Katherine Gibson. Their stories proved to be as varied as they were compelling – spanning service in Vietnam, being present at the Twin Towers on Sept.11, 2001, living with blindness and the personal memory of hearing the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The project culminated in a screening of all four finished films in the OBHS auditorium, attended by Life Enrichment Center members and Oyster Bay High School social studies classes. The event celebrated the seniors who generously shared their stories while giving students the experience of presenting their work to an authentic, engaged audience. Refreshments were served, lending a warm and social atmosphere to the afternoon.
The screening was a success and a testament to what students can achieve when their work connects to something more than the classroom – in this case, the living history of their own community.
Below you can view coverage of the event on News 12 as well as each of the student films.