Previous Issues Tower of Youth Celebrates Teens' Creativity (Apr 1998) TOY Award Winner Explores Multimedia (Apr 1998)   Tower of Youth Meyer New Media Distribution Lab

Young people in the Sacramento Valley have a unique resource to help them learn about digital multimedia and communications technology. The Tower of Youth is a Sacramento-based organization whose primary mission is to empower young people through "access to, and mastery of, cutting edge information and communication technologies to create a far reaching youth cultural voice." Students from as many as 70 regional high schools participate in Tower of Youth programs and events.

Boy Meets Rex, the Grand Prize Winner at the Tower of Youth Digital Reel Teen Showcase this year, was created by Sheldon High School students Austin Madison and Janelle Hann.

The major annual highlight for Tower of Youth is the Teen Digital Reel Awards Showcase. This event begins with rounds of hands-on training in the latest digital media technology for area teens. The students use this knowledge to create short (three-minute) digital videos in one of six categories (which vary from year to year). A panel of judges reviews the entries, of which there were 81 this year. The showcase then culminates in an awards ceremony at which the winners are announced — and their work shown to the assembled crowd on a very big screen: the Esquire IMAX Theater in Sacramento.

UC Davis has lent a hand to the Tower of Youth (TOY) awards showcase since its inception in 1997. In fact, says Bill Bronston, CEO of the organization, "the generosity of UC Davis in making available their media labs was instrumental in getting the TOY program off the ground in the first place. This set the tone for all the succeeding years of cooperation between TOY and UC Davis." In addition to helping at the awards ceremony itself, staff members from Information and Educational Technology (IET) have provided assistance behind the scenes.

Mira Loma High School students Harry Zhong and Karen Chu took first place in the Environment category of the Teen Digital Reel Awards with their digital claymation short, Air Pollution Hurts.

Early in the school year, the New Media Distribution Lab in Hart Hall was used as a training facility for showcase participants. Over 30 high school students — more than double the showing at similar workshops in previous years — attended a workshop on Adobe AfterEffects 5.0. To prepare for the workshop, Todd Van Zandt, manager of the New Media Distribution Lab, arranged for temporary licenses for all the necessary software and set up all the computers. The class was co-taught by Joe Castillo, a lab manager, and Jordan Woods, a UC Davis student with a strong interest in multimedia production.

After the students put their training into practice and submitted videos to the TOY competition, the judging of these videos took place right here on campus at the Arbor facility. The judging panel spent an entire day watching every one of the video entries. Two IET staff members — Joseph Coulombe, of the Arbor, and Cayce Dumont, IT Times editor — participated as judges.

Coulombe is an old hand with TOY events, having participated in judging the awards for the last five years. He is impressed by the work produced by the students: "The quality of the student presentations has steadily risen over the last five years. It's always interesting to see what they come up with." Coulombe has provided so much help over the years that he was presented with one of only three special Volunteer Service Awards at this year's showcase.

The relationship between UC Davis and TOY is a long-standing one. It has endured because both parties enjoy benefits — tangible and intangible — from the association. For UC Davis, Tower of Youth and its programs represent a natural outreach opportunity to reach out to surrounding areas to offer educational support, share resources, and positively impact young people from a variety of backgrounds.

The Intolerance, by Sheldon High School students Dwayne Gladhill and Cole Sanchez took 3rd place in the Civic category.

The benefits the teens gain from Tower of Youth are obvious. Several teen participants over the years have used their presentations as portfolio items to help gain entry to prestigious universities. The grand prize winner of this year's Digital Reel Awards, Sheldon High School Senior Austin Madison, was accepted into the computer animation program at CalArts — an impressive accomplishment, considering that the average age of an incoming freshman to the first-rate program is 23. UC Davis feels the effects of these talented youth as well. In fact, one of the award winners in an early TOY ceremony later attended UC Davis, where he put his expertise to use in working for IET. (For more on this student, Adam Breen, see "TOY Award Winner Explores Multimedia," in the April 1998 IT Times.)

Coulombe particularly appreciated the opportunity to interact with other professionals. The judging panel this year included representatives from area colleges, Sacramento-area news organizations (Sacramento Bee and Sacramento News and Review), and from the Idea Factory, a local company that produces marketing products. Coulombe remarks, "We all learn something when we have these kinds of opportunities to compare notes."