Stacy films her christmas story intro
It’s not just a class. K-AHS becomes a lifestyle, a truth that I have discovered over the past semester. A teeth grinding, nail biting, foot tapping existence, where the highs are high and the lows are low. It’s a rat race. It’s a scramble for top anchor, top producer, top student; a constant battle to prove oneself as most creative, most innovative, best. A class where one of the main topics discussed is who will make it for next year, whispered predictions of Gil Garcia’s favorite students… and least favorite students.
Megan counts down to showtime
Most of the kids in k-ahs express unrelenting passion for the class, spending hours laboring for the perfect show. In actuality, it is just a high school news program, similar to most other schools across the nation; bringing news and broadcasting announcements to the students and faculty. But for all the kids in k-ahs, it is something entirely different. This show is unique in the eyes of a k-ahs student. It comes with a full dose of pride, which you probably have sensed if you have a class with any k-ahs student. Who grin and beam if the K dash A- H- S is muttered through anyone’s lips. Who make a speech after every show during 2nd period, explaining the technicalities of that particular day. Who, when with fellow k-ahs members, can usually not be persuaded to talk about anything other than k-ahs. We are labeled as irritating know-it-alls, swollen with pride, students with very big heads.
Lea frames up a shot for the Mac vs PC spoof with Calzada
All of these accusations are, in a way, very true. But we don’t care. We have become media junkies, and are hooked on the stuff for good. Both the audience and the crew know that it is just a show. Yet the audience does not know the sweat in the studio from the scorching lights. Or the panic of producing. Or the relief of Gil’s approving nod (or conversely, the despair of Gil’s disapproving sigh). Or the apple eights, F10s, shift z’s, option r’s. The lock-it-downs and the five, four, three (two, one)’s. All this effort to give Austin High a show that looks skillfully effortless. And through it all, through all the labor and the stress, every k-ahs student anticipates class to arrive. They count down the minutes with enthusiasm to rush to the k-ahs room, and start the frenzy. Scrutinizing a project, running back and forth from studio to control room, volunteering for every new assignment Gil thinks up, it’s all just a part of the victorious accomplishment.
4th period all dressed up for the Westlake game
Just like any achievement, k-ahs kids get a rush from success. The teeth grinding, nail biting, foot tapping existence at the end of the day is a joyous triumph. Behind a cloud of competition and panic and pride, we grin at one another with appreciation for the work achieved. That is what I’ve learned over the past semester, a semester that flew by. I’ve discovered the lifestyle, there is no return.
-Joanne Troutner, Junior - Advanced Field Production
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