Help NCTV fund media arts education for Nantucket's youth.

‍

When Nantucket Community Television began in 2012, we never imagined the obstacles we would have to overcome. From storm surge flooding of our first studio, to finding talented videographers and editors to hire on an island 30 miles out at sea, to providing live broadcasting and day-to-day updates on the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, it's been a whirlwind for our small but mighty TV station.

‍

Now, in our eleventh year of providing top-notch media services to the island of Nantucket, we look back and reflect on not just all of the challenges we've faced, but also all we've managed to accomplish. And trust us, we've accomplished a lot. We completed the setup of our full-service studio and whisper room, hired a government services manager to facilitate coverage of local government meetings and elections, brought back LUNAFEST®, revived the Nantucket Shorts Festival after a pandemic-induced hiatus, and expanded our education programs, Teen View (presented by the Nantucket Film Festival) and Whaler Media 101, offering more Nantucket youth accessibility to FREE media arts education.

‍

At the beginning of 2022, NCTV welcomed local teacher Mark Carapezza into our close-knit staff to lead our education programs. After two years of limiting classes in the station due to the pandemic, Mark's endless excitement and creative ideas for where our education classes could go felt like a breath of fresh air. Our classroom, which had been turned into a wasteland for defunct equipment and broken iMacs as we rushed to cover an endless stream of virtual community events, blossomed into a cozy and relaxed space that invited students to hang out for a while. The voices of high school students excitedly overlapping in conversations about short film concepts bubbled down the hallway and into our staff's offices -- a welcome sound after two years of murmurs muffled by masks. Some students came on days when class wasn't even in session, to work on their scripts as they waited for the WAVE to come by.

‍

For many Nantucket students, taking a class with NCTV is the first time they're introduced to the world of filmmaking. When students enroll in one of our education programs, they're not just learning how to film, edit, or broadcast. They're learning how to tell a story. How to communicate. How to inspire change in the world around them. We take pride in helping these kids not only develop a passion for film, but also a desire to make a positive impact in their community. Some of these students even move on to pursue a career in media arts (Grace Bartlett, Ben Daniels, and Albert Glowacki, to name a few).

‍

We've made huge strides this year in growing our education program. But like most important missions, our work is not done. While the support of grants from Nantucket Film Festival and Nantucket Golf Club Foundation have been essential to continuing our student youth programs, the upkeep of a full-service media classroom doesn't come cheap.

‍

- Computers and software become antiquated quickly.

- Our students' plastic chairs are on loan from the high school.

- NCTV's six camera kits have to be shared between students and community members, which means equipment often gets lost or breaks.

- Most importantly, our students' love for their classes and their teacher have put an extra demand on our education coordinator to put more hours into hosting film-viewing workshops and editing lessons.

‍

That's why this year, we need your help to grow our education fund. Every dollar goes directly towards funding our programs, and subsequently, helping educate Nantucket youth.

‍

We here at NCTV are dedicated to this community, and we are proud to serve the island of Nantucket. There's nowhere else quite like it. Help us continue our mission to engage Nantucket by connecting stories to audiences, government to citizens, and, especially this year, students to hands-on learning. Thank you for your support.

‍

With much love,

‍

The staff of NCTV18

‍

Lisa Getter, Executive Director | Frank Schadt, Head of Production | Catie O'Connor, Production/Marketing Coordinator Charles Douglas, Government Services Manager | Mark Carapezza, Education Coordinator