For high school students, projects should be second nature. Some projects can be long and boring; others can be short and enjoyable. TV production teacher Dr. Underwood does his best to find a happy medium for his introductory TV production students.

During the 2^nd grading period, they worked for 6 weeks on the Personal Video History (PVH) project that made use of a minimum of 120 pictures from the student’s life till now and two 3 minute songs.

According to Dr. Underwood, this project helps students learn how to edit videos. He got the idea from a teaching convention and has adapted it to his own curriculum. He also wrote his doctoral research paper on the project and proved how it gets parents more engaged with their child’s education.

When students finish the project, they must pay the grand total of $1 so that Dr. Underwood can burn the project on a CD before students go on Christmas break. This way the students can give their family members a priceless gift.

When students give the project/gift to someone, they never know what reaction they’re going to get. Freshman Jaime Negron’s parents congratulated him on his masterpiece and “were in tears” when he presented them with the video. Similarly, senior Kristy Prado’s mom cried and thought it was a good gift.

Senior Darvin Inoa made the video for his sisters.“They smiled and appreciated it,” he said. Sophomore Kelvin Rivera’s parents said it’s the best gift he could’ve ever given them.

This project is not easy for everyone. “The problem with the pictures being on a USB is that they don’t always upload to the computers,” Dr. Underwood said.

Other problems can occur during the project. Sometimes students don’t use the computer they started on, and sometimes the editing program takes a long to “render” the project.

Senior Jonathan Leon’s problems began when he tried putting the music in. He said, “The songs would cut off in the middle and start replaying.”

Dr. Underwood’s biggest problem with this project are the students who forget to pick the project up. “After spending so much time, frustration, and a dollar on the project, students don’t remember that the project is designed as a Christmas present for their family,” he said.

Then there are the students who didn’t do the project. Sophomore Durhan Chavez says he didn’t do it because Underwood didn’t explain the project well enough.

However, Dr. Underwood replied, “That’s ridiculous! I must’ve explained each step of the project a dozen times to the class and to students individually.”

Erick Castillo said, “All my baby pictures are in Nicaragua.” To this, Dr. Underwood responded, “Understandable excuse, but recent photos were always allowed.”