Published: May 16, 2008 11:16 am         

Student pursues dream

Senior works on several county projects for experience

Logansport High School senior Lauren Zehner didn’t even realize it when she began her journey toward a career.

It all started when was in eighth grade and began creating short films using a video camera, she said.

“I always had a secret dream and passion for being in front of the camera,” she said. “I never thought about being behind the camera.”

Zehner is now involved in two community projects.

Her first has been a cooking show though Logansport Memorial Hospital. The show, which is broadcast to local Comcast Cable subscribers on channel 18, focuses on healthy alternatives to popular foods and also features a segment with a nutritionist.

Zehner is in charge of taping and editing each show, a process she said could take take anywhere from five to 15 hours.

The idea for the cooking program came from her television production teacher, Gregg Reed, and Zehner started the project at the beginning of this school year. The project is a partnership between Memorial Hospital and the Century Career Center.

“It sounded pretty cool to do something on my own,” she said. “I felt pretty important.”

The cooking show actually led to the opportunity to film and edit this year’s United Way video, she added. Thanks to her hard work on the cooking show, Reed suggested her when he heard the United Way was looking for someone to put together the video.

Her work on the video started right after winter break at school. She took on the project for the added experience, she said.

For the video, she filmed various United Way agencies — the Cass County Family YMCA, the Mental Health Association, Peak Community Services, Cass Area Transit and the Senior Center.

When filming the organizations, she told them to just do what they normally would do, so she could capture what the United Way was really about.

Her main focus was to allow the community to see exactly what the United Way does.

“You hear about it, but don’t see it,” she said.

Currently, she is in the editing process, adding voiceovers and music to complete the project. Three fourths of the way done, Zehner said she had to complete a few more video shots and her assignment would be completed.

Being asked to become involved in her most recent projects has meant a lot to Zehner, and she has also gained more confidence.

“I was getting the experience I needed for the next step,” she said.

Zehner first transformed her movie-making hobby into a career possibility during her sophomore year at LHS by enrolling in the television production class offered through the Century Career Center. Now with three years of classroom experience, Zehner has decided to enroll at the New York Film Academy.

While Zehner enjoys what she does, she finds a greater joy when someone doesn’t realize a high school student directed and edited something until the end of the project, she said.

“I’m pretty excited to show them, so they know I do have talent,” she said.

Denise Forsberg can be reached at (574) 732-5151 or via e-mail at denise.forsberg@pharostribune.com