Broadcast journalism & social media.

Our program has never produced video journalism as we’ve had no platform to display it; however, as soon as I launched the website, I knew we needed to make our first documentary. And I knew there was no better topic than the greatest sports weekend of my life, at least as a spectator. In February of my eighth grade year, the winter Southwestern Preparatory Conference (SPC) was held in Dallas. For the first time ever, three of four St. Mark’s winter athletic teams won the conference championship, as well as another championship won by our sister school, Hockaday. Highlighted by late comebacks, penalty saves and record-setting student sections, the tournament was quickly dubbed the greatest St. Mark’s sports moment ever. However, in my humble opinion, the weekend never received the type of coverage that would cement it in St. Mark’s history. So, from right after website launch in September up until the 2024 SPC tournament in February, I led the creation of this documentary. I contacted athletes, coaches and athletic directors across the country to set up interviews. I researched each game for hours, allowing me to come up with the perfect set of interview questions – and often remembered games better than the athletes who played in them. During interviews, I took the interviewees back to one of the most memorable moments of their respective lives, sometimes resulting in tears – both happy and sad. I reached out to former team moms, managers and school administration to collect photos that best encaptured the weekend. Then, once all the content was gathered, which included thousands of photos and several hours of footage, I had to make a film less than one hour long. With my sixth-grade level film studies education and a team ready to be led, the arduous editing process was slowly completed. After planning for the last year, my dream documentary was done. But more rewarding than my own cathartic feeling or even showing the film to the current student body were the reactions of coaches, players and parents who received the opportunity to relive the time of their lives. Please enjoy the first-ever film from the St. Mark’s journalism program.

Additionally, other videos have appeared on our website such as sports hype videos, school assemblies and videos accompanying stories. The video found below accompanies a story about a middle schooler with a passion for racing.