Every Picture Tells a Story

When Isaac Barrio, a senior at Willow Canyon High School, was a small child, he often went camping with his family. One time when he was 9 or 10 years old, he remembers vividly straying from the camp with some other children to build a little fort out of wood. It was at that moment he had a tremendous sense of freedom, but he also had a vehicle by which to let his creativity really flourish. “That’s just one of those random memories that just sticks with you,” said Barrio. “That one specifically because it was so much fun to do my own thing.” Not long after that in elementary school, Isaac found another way to let his imagination grow. The school had a morning news network.“I’ve always had an interesting film,” he recalls. “I would go to like baseball or hockey games with my parents, and I would just look at the cameras and broadcast equipment.”After getting a taste of film and broadcasting at the elementary level, Isaac jumped at the opportunity to join the Film and TelevisionCareer and TechnicalEducation program atWillow Canyon High School. That small boy who had learned to develop his creative freedom building wooden forts at camp was now using those imagination skills to create and tell stories through film.

During his sophomore year Isaac had the opportunity to travel with his school to the SpringTraining facilities in Surprise with his classmates to participate with High School Nation, interviewing baseball stars. High School Nation partners with organizations that host events throughout the country to provide special access to high school journalists. Students get up close with professional sports figures, while getting the opportunity to interview them. “I think I did alright. It was the first time I was interviewing big people,” he shared. “I was able to interviewJoe Torre of the Yankees. High School Nation thought I was totally cool so they requested I come back next year.”

That opportunity in his sophomore year would lead to an extraordinary project in his junior year.Through his High School Nation connections,Isaac learned of a national contest with Powerade. They were looking for students to tell uniques ports stories. Isaac’s creativity kicked into full gear. “Of courseI had to take advantage of that opportunity.” He knew of a girl at his school who had a very interesting story. She had gotten a concussion during a soccer game, and lost all of her memories for the past six years. She couldn’t even remember herself or family. “I like making documentaries and telling stories on film, so whenI heard about the accident, I wanted to know more about it. It was sad, and I wanted to get it out to more people.” The short documentary story won him the Powerade contest, but more importantly it solidified a direction for his creativity. It wasn’t just a love of film and television, but the stories that come along with it. “There are so many stories out there waiting to be told,” he says passionately.“I like searching for stories and truth because it can move people in so many ways. It’s a great way to make change and make people feel something.”

Isaac Barrio uses a steadicam, which is meant to reduce camera shake, while wrestlers perform moves at Willow Canyon High School.

This past summer Isaac traveled with his peers to the national SkillsUSA competition in Louisville, Kentucky. He had submitted a paper on their work with High School Nation and Powerade and won the state competition. They gave a presentation at nationals and earned the prestigious Models of Excellence Award.

Isaac was recently accepted into the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University where he can continue his love of storytelling and film. “When it comes to what I want to do with my life, and my career, I really like to create memories through film. The thing that is itching me to make films is the idea that you can create.” It appears as if that love of freedom and creation through creativity from his early years will live on. “Two of my biggest role models are my parents,” he says with a smile. “They’re very hard working, and they always tell me to find what I love to do, and just do it.” That would be his advice to others. He says each of us defines our own destiny. “You decide which way you go in life,” he said. “Love what you have, and love what you do.”

A SkillsUSA Models of Excellence Banner earned by Isaac Barrio and his fellow students hangs from the rafters at the entrance to Willow Canyon High School.