SmugMug Spotlight: Niceville High School
This “East Coast” 2010 Photoshop World was held in Orlando Florida this year. I had the great pleasure of running into Shane and Christina Sauer again; along with their group of 26 9-12th grade kids. Yes, you read that right, 26 high school kids at Photoshop World! I met Shane and Christina Sauer at one of the Photoshop Worlds in Boston a few years back. Their dedication and love for kids made an impression on me. As most know, kids always have a strong place in my heart along with people that unselfishly help them. It gives me great please to present to Niceville High School a year of SmugMug!
About their Program
The Choice program at Niceville High School gives young students the chance to get their feet wet in IT with a graphic design and digital cinema like no other k-12 program. The thing that separates the NHS Choice program is the experienced faculty and the rigorous curriculums. It’s more like a college environment and strives to find instructors from the industry rather than from the education field. Its that real world knowledge that keeps the students on the cutting edge. In addition the ultimate goal is for students to learn a lifelong skill while earning industry-standard certifications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Motion, CEO, Cisco, CIW, and many more.
Shane and Christina Sauer
Shane and Christina Sauer head up the Digital Media & Cinema program. They are a husband and wife team who honed their skills in New York City and decided to settle down in the Emerald Coast. The Sauer’s teach 9-12 grade students, and strive to expose them to things that most kids would never experience. This is the second year the Sauer’s brought students to Photoshop World. Last year, they took 9 students to PSW in Boston and it was such a motivating and enriching experience, they took 26 kids this year to the Orlando 3-day conference. Not only do students get exposed to the best in the industry, taking classes such as Photography, Lighting, Photoshop, and Motion Graphics, they walk away from PSW refreshed and inspired to make a career out of what they love.
Rather than bring the standard parents as chaperons, the Sauer’s decided to bring former students from last years trip. The PSW alumni have the knowledge of how the conference is organized as well as get a chance to take classes and continue learning themselves. They get much more out of the conference than a parent would. Last year one of the many things that learned at PSW was to create amazing panoramas. The 180 degree shot shows the NHS Digital Media Mac lab, and the 360 degree shot shows the adjoining studio where they film, shoot photography, and have equipment checkout. This year they also built a website where students could send live photos from their mobile devices, and friends and family could watch as NHS CHOICE rocked their way through PSW 2010. Niceville thanks the NAPP & ADOBE for making PSW so much fun and can’t wait for next year!
How they are going to use SmugMug Pro
They are planning on using Smug Mug as an online portfolio for students and as a fundraiser. Students could upload their work and share it with one another, friends and family, other teachers, etc….In addition, they could use this as a fundraiser. Parents and family members would be able to purchase the students artwork. They also think this would be useful for students to share work with one another, it would help with brainstorming, feedback, and improve the overall quality of work that’s produced.
27 comments
I was privileged to sit by some of these kids at a few of the classes and Midnight Madness. So full of life.
The Sauers are wonderful to give them this “Choice” opportunity.
They were indeed nice kids and I wish them much good luck in life!
.-= Kitty Mason´s last blog ..Portfolio =-.
Reading the feedback from the HS students that joined us at #PSW. It was awesome seeing those young ‘uns grok on Ps! http://bit.ly/dq7OGn
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
First off, thank you, Vanelli, for the fantastic article! The Sauers deserved every bit of praise you gave them. I went to Photoshop World this year with them, and it was a fantastic experience. Although I don’t plan on majoring in graphic design, I’m now considering a minor in photography, and I want to thank you and all of the Photoshop professionals for a fantastic experience.
Hopefully This Site Will Help Me Get notice In The Professional World Of Digital Design I Would Like To Thank All The People Of NAPP & Photoshop World For Helping Me Advance In My Work
Hey Vanelli!
Thank you so much for writing this article about NHS CHOICE. I was one of the lucky kids given the chance to attend PSW and I have to say it’s an experience I wouldn’t give up for the world. On the trip to PSW I made so many new friends and had a complete blast learning the latest and greatest tips and techniques for so many different products. When I returned to Niceville I made it a priority to get together with many of my friends who also went on the trip to try out one of the photography techniques we learned while there, light painting. PSW has reaffirmed my desire to continue along this type of path within college and hopefully major in Digital Design. I would like to say thank you to everyone who went along on the trip and especially to Mr. and Mrs. Sauer, because without them, none of this would have been possible. Also a HUGE thank you to everyone involved with NAPP for making PSW, as well as Vanelli for writing this amazing article!! I hope to be able to attend many of the future PSW conventions to come!
I went to PWS with NHS and I was so inspired! I was already planning on majoring in Graphic Design, but the experience made me realize how much I also love photography! Now I’ve got a full load for college deciding in minoring in photography. I wish I could go again!
PSW ROCKS AND SO DO MR AND MRS SAUER!!!!
YOLO!
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET
Photoshop World 2010 was an amazing experience that i will never forget. From the exciting classes to the very helpful staff it was awesome. I learned things there that i will never forget. I hope i will be able to go next year!!!!! (vanelli rocks)
First off, Vanelli, I met you at Photoshop World in March, and you are amazing! I am in Crissy Sauer’s photoshop class right now; she deserves every bit of credit given to her in this post, and so much more. Shes my favorite teacher, and she inspires me to work towards my dream of being a photographer. Photoshop World was SO much fun, and inspirational; I gained a great deal of skill. I want to save my money to go to “Vacation with Vanelli!” Hopefully I’ll be seeing you around sometime.
BIG Thanks to the amazing Sauers for giving us the opportunity to go to Photoshop World!
VANELLI! Thanks so much for this wonderful article. I went to Photoshop World with Niceville Highschool. Mr and Mrs Sauer are wonderful teachers and friends to their students! Them and the teachers at photoshop world have encouraged me tremendously to pursue my dreams in photography! I learned so much from these few days at Photoshop World and with my photographer/photoshop-lover peers. I wish to be a photojournalist in a couple of years and this trip taught me how to follow my heart! WOOOO NICEVILLE LOVES VANELLI, THE SAUERS, AND PHOTOSHOP WORLD!!!
This is really cool! Photoshop World sounds like a lot of fun!
I attended PSW for the first time this year with the group of kids from Niceville High, and its has made such an impact on my photoshop skills and my creativity! It was such an amazing experience and i give many thanks to the Sauer’s and all those that made it happen. I cannot wait to go back and learn even more next year!
YAYYYYY!
Hey, I was also one of the students that went to Photoshop World this year. It really was an amazing experience that without the sauers I would have never been able to go. It was truly was amazing and life changing. The saucers really are great people who have given me the chance to work with things like macs and wacom tablets that I would never get to use without them. They are amazing and deserve more credit then they get!
Dude, I loved Photoshop World! It was such a blast, and SO inspiring for me with photography. I learned a lot and realized that it really is something I will pursue. Niceville loves Vanelli! <3
THESE ARE AWSOME
This is pretty epic! I wish I had gone.
Thats awesome
Photoshop World was the best experience I could ask for in my high school career. It really inspired me to do so much more with Photoshop as well as got em more interested in photography. I think I have finally settled on my major in Graphic Design and I can’t wait to attend another Photoshop World conference. The IT program at Niceville really is phenomenal and I’m so glad I took a class there but I wish I could have started out earlier. Thank you Vanelli for throwing the spotlight on us!
Shane Sauer, Christina Sauer and their students are every bit of what is described above and more. They do a tremendous job of transferring their rare skills to a great bunch of kids.
.-= Sean McSheehy´s last blog ..Friday ALL Web =-.
I was so excited to go to Photoshop World! I had the time of my life, and I finally know what I want to do for the rest of my life! Everyone there was an inspiration and I can not wait until next year to go again!
Hey everyone,
I am one of the students in the group of Niceville High School that attended PS World in Orlando with the Sauer’s this year. I also attended the PS World in Boston last spring with them. First, let me say that each conference I attended, I absolutely LOVED. I was inspired afterwards and became even more excited about what I like doing, such as working in Photoshop and photography.
I just wanted to give some personal insight as to how wonderful the Sauer’s and my school’s IT department are. Coming to my IT classes is something I look forward to everyday. Not only do I learn many useful applications, but I enjoy the people I get to be around. I have been involved in IT classes all four years of high school, and I do not regret one day of it. This year, my senior year, I have three classes and all of which are taught by the Sauer’s. They do not merely teach- they get involved with the kids in their classes and encourage them to be creative and not hold back in anything they do. It is because of this that I acquired more confidence in my photography and am constantly looking to improve what is produced. Instead of coming to class feeling like it’s a mandatory thing, I come feeling excited, comfortable, and ready to have fun. With these last days of school being weighed down by Senioritis, this is a great miracle. Because of this, I feel confident in saying that these two wonderful people really have a gift for teaching.
So, thank you Vanelli for writing this article!
-Krystal
I was one of those select high school kids and let me tell you, it was a blast! I really did learn a lot while i was there and it really gets you excited about photoshop. After the 8 hour drive back home on a school bus i went immediately to my computer and tested out some new tricks i learned on photoshop!
Went to PSW with the school and got such experience out of it (not to mention all of Nik’s software!). The IT program here is the thing that made my move to the area all worth while.
Well i was on the trip and im from NHS and PSW just helped me pick my major for college and also something for a great hobby