By Olivia Cook, Contributing Writer
Asbury students Lynnette Cagle and Mitchell Judy made their way to Nashville over Labor Day Weekend to assist in filming the [Morse]fest at New Life Fellowship in Crossplains, Tennessee. The sold out concert featured the Neal Morse Band, a Christian rock band that holds international acclaim. Cagle and Judy ran live feed cameras capturing footage that will be used to create a Blu-ray and DVD of the concert.
Hammond Communications reached out to the communications department at Asbury over the summer, looking for students interested in helping with the event. Several Asbury alumni, including Lee Clements (2010) were among the crew members. Judy said it was a great experience getting to work alongside Asbury Alumni and others who were making a living doing the things he loves. “I liked talking to the guys who graduated from Asbury and hearing how they did stuff,” Judy said. “It was really cool how we could connect on something like that.”
Before this opportunity Cagle had never worked with cameras outside of class, but reflecting on the weekend, she was beaming with excitement. “I had no idea I would be so interested in filming or running equipment, but I’m finding out it’s something I can do and I enjoy,” she said. Cagle has always focused more on her writing, but film opens up a new world of possibilities. “I like telling stories and when you’re filming something you are communicating in a way you want people to see it. In a different way, you are telling a story.”
The Morse[fest] is just one of many off-campus opportunities Asbury students have recently been asked to take part in. Josh Bedsole got to work on the production of The Ultimate Legacy, a third instalment of The Ultimate Gift, with Producer Rick Eldridge of ReelWorks Studio out of Charlotte, N.C. over the summer. He ran the camera to capture behind the scenes interviews of the cast and crew. Bedsole said, “The thing that I enjoyed most was working alongside veteran industry professionals. It was really exciting to witness the level of professionalism that, up to this point, I had only heard and read about in the classroom.”
Off campus experience is not limited to film either. Megan Gieske worked with Aspiration Media of Los Angeles in the spring, writing stories of inspirational women for the “She Is Noble Campaign.” The campaign brought awareness to female advocates and promoted the feature film, Noble. One of Gieske’s articles featured Rachel Hatley, who became the Noble Award Winner and received $10,000 for her charity from Aspiration Media. Rebecca Frazer and Abigail Foster both travelled to Washington DC for the summer and worked as interns at the Pentagon, gaining Public Relations experience among top government officials.
Opportunities such as these continue to grow in number for eager Asbury students. As student workers leave, organizations come back to Asbury again and again looking for help from this university because they know the students are reliable and hardworking. They give students an opportunity to work in real-world situations, engaging in the culture and dynamics of different career paths and opening doors of possibility for the future. Reflecting on the weekend, Cagle exclaims, “I’m part of this! Something that is artistic and well done, and I got to contribute to that!”
