Article "An Affected Youth" 4/1/09 Patriot News

AN AFFECTED YOUTH

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

BY MONICA VON DOBENECK

Of The Patriot-News

Milton Hershey School student Ryan Wright wants to give President Barack Obama a message: Don't overlook the problem of homelessness while tackling other issues.

He is sending his message in the form of a 5-minute documentary that won him second place in C-SPAN's national StudentCam video contest and $1,500.

Wright, 16, interviewed several homeless men at the Bethesda Mission in Harrisburg as well as Bethesda director Chuck Wingate for his documentary "The America No One Wants to See." He set their stories against haunting footage of homeless quarters set up under bridges or on street corners.

"This problem needs to be faced," Wright said. "It needs more time and money. In such a rich country as America there is no reason for homelessness."

Wright has been a student at the residential Milton Hershey campus since fourth grade. In his neighborhood in Philadelphia, he sees "so many homeless on the streets" and the shelters that offer them a place to stay are "not the best," he said. Some of the homeless say they are afraid to stay in the shelters because of the violence and drug use that goes on there, he said.

Wright said his mother was temporarily homeless while pregnant with him, and had to stay in a shelter with his three older siblings.

The national C-SPAN competition, now in its fifth year, focused on the topic, "A message to the new president: What is the most important issue for the new president to address after taking office, and why?" More than 1,900 students from 41 states submitted nearly 1,000 entries. There was one grand-prize winner, two first-place winners and eight second-place winners.

The most common topics, in order, were the economy, education, alternative energy, climate change and the war on terrorism.

Wright said he wanted a topic that would be a little different but nevertheless important.

He had to do most of his filming outside of classroom time, which was sometimes difficult because it conflicted with his wrestling competitions.

It was a lot of hard work, he said, between setting up interviews, writing the script, filming, editing, adding the music and making sure it all flowed together.

He hopes to pursue documentary filmmaking in college and work in the field.

"I finally found something in school I love to do," he said.

He credits his video production teachers, Douglas Legore and Ronald Rickens, with providing him the knowledge and inspiration he needed. The equipment at Milton Hershey School is wonderful, Wright said, but without the teachers it would not mean much.

Legore, formerly the award-winning director of photography for WHTM-TV, said Wright tackled a tough topic. It's often hard to get homeless people to open up and talk on camera, he said.

"Great television doesn't happen in the classroom," he said. "You have to find the story, and he did."

Wright's film had "both substance and style," Legore said.

"He would be very successful in this field," Legore said. "He is talented, personable and curious. His film showed a lot of skill for a 16-year-old."

MONICA VON DOBENECK: 832-2090 or mdobeneck@patriot-news.com

ON THE AIR

Ryan Wright's documentary on homelessness, "The America No One Wants to See" will be broadcast on C-SPAN at 9:30 a.m. April 21. It can also be seen online at www.studentcam.org. Milton Hershey student sheds light on homeless in C-SPAN film contest