The Academy of Multimedia and Communications was one of the many extra curriculars students could sign up for at Madison Central. The course allowed for students to make short films, music videos, podcasts, and many more. It was offered to freshman to start off their high school careers in a close-knit community. These small classes were High Tech Video Production I, High Tech Video Production II, High Tech Video Production III, and lastly for seniors, High Tech Video Production IV, Students in the academy then took classes with students who had similar interests. This allowed for the academy members to create close bonds with their fellow filmmakers and find their interests easier. Most students went through their entire high school career in the academy and greatly enjoyed it. Many students went on to get job opportunities they wouldn’t have normally gotten if they had taken other classes different from High Tech Video Production.

         Ella Joyner (10), a second-year High Tech Video Production student, speaks about her time as a student in the academy. She said “This class has advanced my high school career by providing a creative outlet for me. This is a great class if you want to learn a lot. You learn everything about film, but it also teaches you many life lessons. The academy also allows you to have more creative control that you would in normal classes. You learn how to work with other people, how to compromise, how to stay organized and schedule. There is so much I’ve learned through the academy that I will carry over with me past high school.” These people skills that the students learned helped them with their futures. The Academy opened many doors for members and gave opportunities to earn an internship their senior year.

This class allowed students to work behind and in front of the camera. Those who enjoyed being behind the camera were given assignments to expand their photography and cinematography skills. On the other hand, students who enjoyed being on camera acted in many short films and learned people skills and ways to better their performance on camera. Jenna Dent (12,) preferred being behind the camera and filming more than acting. She said, “I enjoyed working behind the camera, because I got to translate the vision that I had in my head into something that others can see and enjoy.”

In the end, the Academy of Multimedia and Communications had a large impact on all students involved. This impact was through the expansion of their creativity, confidence, happiness, and communication skills. The teachers involved in the Academy wanted the best for their students and worked towards the goal of creating young film makers every day. A young film maker, Colin Ridgway (11,) believed that the academy had a large impact on his career in the film world. He said, “Since Middle School, I’ve always known I wanted to continue doing film and video stuff after high school, and because of HTVP, I’ve realized my strengths when it comes to making videos such as screenwriting and editing.”

Madison Central’s Student Government Association (SGA) was made to represent the entire school in the best ways possible. SGA created fun events for students throughout the school year to keep them motivated and happy. One of the ways SGA kept everyone represented was through the elections. Two weeks out of the entire school year were dedicated to the campaigning on executive and class SGA members. Throughout these weeks, students running for positions filled the halls with posters and flooded social media with campaigns and slogans. At the end of both weeks, students in all grades were able to go online and vote for who they believed represented Madison Central and their grade best. The campaigning process was the most recognizable factor of SGA to the school community and created a way for students to look forward to the next school year through retrospective voting.

Ella Trowbridge, (10), ran for junior class secretary and won along with Lola Williams (10), Mary Katherine McIntyre (10), Rivers Biggs (10), and Corey Robinson (10). Ella joined Student Government in 10th grade, and it shaped her high school career. Ella Trowbridge (10) spoke on this, “I’ve always enjoyed speaking up for my fellow classmates, so I thought that student government would be the best fit for me. I have had some of my favorite memories through SGA. The campaigning process is always stressful, but so much fun to express creativity and personality throughout the entire school.” Student Government allows for students to truly share their personality with the school while campaigning. Some students took funny pictures and used photoshop to win over their audience with humor. Lola Williams (10), for example, used the slogan “The Law is On Your Side” and photoshopped a picture of herself onto a police officer. Lola did end up winning the election for Junior Class Representative through showing off her personality to the student body.

Avery Johnston (11) and Max Zuluaga (11) ran for executive Co-Vice Presidents during 2023 and won. Max and Avery both had been in Student Government since 6th grade and the experience they have had in the organization created a want to be on the executive team their senior year. Avery Johnston (11) said, “We painted signs the weekend before election week to hang up in the hallways and in the commons. We also made social media posters to post on our Instagram’s and snapchats.” This was a very common way that people campaigned for SGA positions. Every wall was covered with posters with slogans, names, and images to catch students’ attention. SGA was important because it gave students an outlook to make changes to our school. It also helped the administration know about what the students wanted and needed to make Madison Central an enjoyable learning environment.