To the editor:
It has recently come to my attention that my beloved Viking Video Productions class is being shut down. This saddens me deeply as this program has afforded me many opportunities, not which of the least is going to Europe. This program is so much more than teaching students the basics of film making. Through Mrs. Jepson this class opened the eyes of myself and many others to a whole new field where our artistry could be displayed proudly. This class gave me an outlet for my creative side and an inspiration for what I wanted to be when I grew up. This is not something most teens have by their senior year of high school. Most college freshmen are undeclared their first year, while I went to the New England School of Communications as a journalism major. Thanks to Viking Video Productions I had direction in my life.
Viking Video Productions has won awards for their videos and one in particular that I remember. Although I did not participate in the making of “Don’t Fence Me In,” a documentary about prisoners of war from Germany. I went with Brenda Nasberg Jepson, my teacher on the Governor’s Trade Mission to Germany and Italy. In Germany we showed the film that a small class in Caribou, Maine had made. I don’t know about anyone else, but my heart shone when our film was being viewed in Germany. Our little town of Caribou, Maine had finally hit the maps. Our program matters, it can actually make a difference, it has in my life.
Now ask yourself if you have ever heard one mention of Viking Video Productions, whether it was from actually watching a film that we made or you knew someone that was in the class. I bet a lot of you say “yes”, if you haven’t you are missing something truly great.
I hate to say goodbye to Viking Video Productions, so I won’t because in truth it’ll always be a part of me. Whenever I put my scarf around my neck I’ll remember the metro in France and how I almost lost it. If it weren’t for Viking Video Productions I wouldn’t have these fond memories. Memories I’ll cherish forever and pass them to my grandchildren when I am old.
Fredericksburg, Va.
