December 13, 2021
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable fall 2021 graduates.
A student storyteller is starting his own next chapter this semester.
Connor Newton on set producing a capstone film for a Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts classmate.
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Connor Newton, who graduates this month with his degree in film and media production, feels ready to enter the entertainment industry after a great academic and professional experience in his student worker job as a videographer for ASU Student Life, a news site run by students and for students through ASU Educational Outreach and Student Services.
“It’s been amazing working with Student Life. It has helped me to grow so much during my time at ASU. My boss, Macy, taught me probably over 90% of the video creation and editing knowledge I have accumulated,” he said. “I feel prepared to enter any collaborative work environment going forward, and I also feel I have confidence in my video skills overall.”
Newton, who is from Phoenix, said the community he built in his job and also in the Sun Devil Roundnet club helped him make lasting connections.
“The community of other student workers made the job even more of a blessing. Whether they were other videographers, photographers or writers, the other Sun Devil storytellers were all super passionate about their work. It was a great experience to be surrounded by like-minded students who wanted to create media and tell stories. … Also, my Student Life peers have become some of my closest friends, people who I feel I can be vulnerable with and talk about anything with. I hope to maintain many of these relationships after graduating.”
One of Newton’s favorite projects in his time at ASU Student Life was the Haunted ASU series, which explores different spooky rumors about each ASU campus. It was a fun collaboration with the Student Life newsroom and also taught Newton a few extra skills.
Video of Haunted ASU: Polytechnic Campus
“It was probably the biggest and most time-consuming project that I worked on, but it was so rewarding when I completed it. I learned a ton of new skills, such as how to create an intro graphic. I also enjoyed the collaborative aspect of the project, and it helped me to hone my creative storytelling skills,” he said.
In addition to his videography and video editing work, Newton also helped ASU students tell their own stories at the Digital Creative Studio on the lower level of the Memorial Union, where ASU Student Life staff work and are available to help other Sun Devils make their own media projects. Newton also served as a producer on many capstone films for his Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts classmates and was a Sun Devil Kids Camp<…….
Source: https://news.asu.edu/20211213-asu-grad-told-stories-campus-life