Filmmaking In My Heart by Sydney

Filmmaking In My Heart by Sydney - April 2025 Scholarship Essay

Storytelling has shaped me.

I come from many generations of Kentuckians who were farmers, builders, and fixers and
through well told stories, I’ve learned how my story is intertwined with theirs. I grew up listening to
stories about my great-great grandfather’s migration from Germany to Kentucky, and using his stone
masonry skills, he built the foundation of a church that still stands today. I learned how my great
grandfather took his eighth-grade education and started farming full time after the death of his
father. My great grandmother loved writing poetry and sharing stories about our ancestors. Their
stories about overcoming obstacles, community connection, and craft are part of the tapestry that
is my life.

Inspired by my ancestors, I am driven to make things and tell stories that matter.

My journey as a storyteller started off bumpy. Early on, I struggled to read. I was behind my
peers and required extra help. After several tutoring sessions, the words, sentences, and ideas
started making sense, and a whole new world opened up as images of the story scrolled across my
mind like a movie. That breakthrough led me to devour every book I could find. Then I started
creating my own stories. While they were full of misspellings and crooked letters, I filled countless
journals with poems, short stories and novels with fictional characters and magical worlds. I
attended children’s theater camps in the summer and fell in love with performance storytelling. I
loved collaborating with the director and other actors to bring stories to life. Hearing the audience
laugh when my character delivered a funny line filled me with so much joy. My early years taught me
that storytelling was an essential craft and connected people on an emotional level.

My passion for filmmaking and visual storytelling started with my love for film.

As I grew older, I was exposed to a wider variety of film genres. At mom’s house, we watched
romcoms, dramas, and comedies, while at my dad’s, we shared a love for horror, action, and
superhero movies. I was in awe of films’ power to resonate with its audience, to entertain and evoke
emotions. After watching Evil Dead, my dad planted the seed for my eventual interest in
filmmaking. He told me that Director Sam Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell met in film school
before they collaborated on a proof of concept film Within the Woods to build interest with
investors. It piqued my interest. On holidays and family vacations, I recruited my cousins to act in
my original short films and subsequently discovered my love for editing and post production. I drew
from the well of generational grit to ensure the films were seamless. The hours spent creating,
shooting, and editing were justified after witnessing my family’s positive reactions to the films.

My filmmaker aspirations started taking shape in high school.

Prior to high school, I considered my video editing and short film creation as a hobby rather
than a serious career path. However, during high school, I leaned into my creative side and started
honing my visual storytelling skills through a variety of activities. During my Junior year, I accepted a
role as a Senior Ambassador Model with a local photography studio and learned more about
lighting and composition. I also collaborated with a group of students on a fictional campaign
promotion video, and I was responsible for videography and editing which earned rave reviews by
our peers and teacher. Using professional filmmaking and editing concepts I picked up from
shadowing a local film company, I volunteered to shoot a commercial for our school fundraiser,
Hoagie Day. Each of these activities and countless others gave me confidence that I was leaning in
the right direction. I am a creator. I am a storyteller. I am hooked.

It was during Kentucky’s Governor’s Scholar Program, a summer residential program, where
I discovered that my passion for filmmaking could translate into a career. My resident assistant, a
fellow Kentuckian and a film student at USC, shared her experiences and shifted my hesitant
interest to a legitimate career choice. At the end of the program, the scholars watched Dial M for
Murder in 3D. While observing their collective reactions to different scenes in the 1950s black and
white murder mystery, I knew my fate was sealed. As the light from the screen reflected off
hundreds of students, my heart raced. Witnessing everyone scream, gasp, and cheer in unison
reinforced my decision to pursue a degree in filmmaking. I want to explore, create, challenge, and
inspire by making films that have impact. This is why I am majoring in motion picture production.

I am a filmmaker at heart. It is my passion. It is my calling. And it is how I will make my impact on the world.