AMBER ALLEN My name is Amber Allen and I am just a couple of days away from graduating from John F. Kennedy High School Architecture / Digital Design / Filmmaking Magnet. High school was a time where I submerged myself in new activities, grew as a person, and accomplished a lot. Joining the filmmaking strand gave me so many amazing opportunities such as having a paid summer internship at Fullscreen, Inc. I learned a lot about online content creators and the way this content is produced, distributed, and consumed by their subscribers. A partner and I also had the opportunity to film a PSA on suicide prevention for the Directing Change Program, which won first place. We were awarded with 500$ for 500 and us$ for our film program. My junior year I was in SkillsUsa and competed in digital cinema production. My partner and I had to write a script based on the prompt we received, create a shot list, overheads, and film and edit the movie. Both years we placed top 5 in the region allowing us to advance to state competition in San Diego. My junior year was also the time I joined marching band. I didn't know how to read music or play an instrument at all but I still jumped into advance band. Within the span of two months, I learned how to read music, play my instrument, and develop the breathing skills to play the saxophone and march a 10-minute field show simultaneously. Because of my hard work and dedication I was awarded with the title of a student leader for the following year. Once the school year was over, I decided my senior year I was going to be a part of the LAUSD All City Honor Marching Band. Since that group is an all brass and percussion group, I couldn't play the saxophone. I took a trumpet home over summer and taught myself to play. My hard work paid off and I had the ability to march with kids from all over LAUSD at amazing places such as Disneyland and the 2017 Rose Parade. The film and music programs were both huge time commitments and taught me a lot about time management. They also gave me the leadership skills and confidence to take on any task or opportunity that comes my way.
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