In Charleston, South Carolina, an artisan weaves blades of dried sweetgrass into a beautiful basket, discussing the craft that enslaved people from West Africa brought to the Lowcountry plantations and that the Gullah community preserved through the generations.<\/p>\n
Across the state, in Greenville, more than a dozen members of the Furman community discuss the pain of racism and the school\u2019s efforts to recognize its history and create a more equitable future.<\/p>\n
Both stories were filmed by student documentarians from Furman. And both documentaries were honored with Southeast Student Production Awards <\/a> by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n This year was the first time that Furman participated in the competition, notes Mary Sturgill, media specialist and communication studies instructor<\/a>, who advised both student filmmakers.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things I love about teaching here, especially when I teach digital storytelling, is seeing how students develop their voices as storytellers,\u201d Sturgill says. \u201cAnd these awards just show the growth that these students had from the beginning of the semester to the culmination of the project.”<\/p>\n Alexis Hildenbrandt \u201922 and Luke Harvin \u201921 worked as one-person crews for their projects, handling video, sound, editing and narration, using equipment from the communication studies department\u2019s media lab.<\/p>\n