The return of Transatlantic Storytelling is officially underway as 16 Ball State students have been selected to participate in the second iteration of the award-winning project with Cardiff Met University in Cardiff, Wales.
The highlight of the project will be a 12-day cultural immersion trip to Wales in late February and early March 2024. While on the ground, students will collaborate with their peers in the Cardiff Met Sport Broadcast course to produce feature stories, live sporting events, studio shows and podcasts.
Nate Locker (Freshman)
Transatlantic Storytelling is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am interested in this project for many reasons, the first being the opportunity to study abroad. Immersing myself in a culture I am unfamiliar with in a hands-on, engaging way provides an opportunity I couldn’t get elsewhere. I’ll learn about customs, traditions, culture, and beliefs, which will help me expand my ideals beyond the traditional American culture. This will help me elevate my work in production as I will know what appeals to a more diverse group of cultures beyond the US.
I know I will return with more creativity, drive, and passion through this project. Our job is to tell the stories of others, but I’m certain that this project will be significant in helping me shape mine.
I am Nate Locker, a freshman at Ball State in the Sports Link program. Although I’m only a freshman, I have a great deal of passion and experience that began while participating in Viking Television (VTV), my high school’s student-run media program, and The Voyager, my high school newspaper.
Throughout high school, I achieved many accomplishments. I was the manager leading all live productions and directed over 10. I pushed myself to complete over 30 edited projects, and all this hard work paid off. I received a Crystal Pillar Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences while being a nominee in two other categories.
I later won first and second-place awards from the Women’s Press Association at the state and national levels. I also became a recipient of seven awards at the 30th Annual Midwest Media Educators Association Film Festival.
Since I’ve been on campus, I was selected to run replay for Chirp Vision, started many projects with upperclassmen, and joined Ball State’s Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. I was also voted to represent the freshmen on the Leadership Council for Sports Link and joined the leadership team for SL Stories. My accomplishments have increased my ambition and proven that I have the skills to be successful. I love what I do and want to push myself to get the most out of my work, be successful and be an inspiration to others.
Being a part of this project will allow me to achieve many tangible goals. My first goal is to gain insight into sports and culture outside the US. Being able to experience and understand a culture I have never encountered is incredibly beneficial to gaining a broader perspective. Experiencing something larger than my worldview is incredibly important to me. It provides an opportunity to explore out-of-the-box, divergent thinking and contributes to me gaining a better understanding of the world around me.
Through this project, I also aim to enhance my storytelling and creative mindset. Stories are truly powerful in what they can do for others. They can spark curiosity while conveying a sense of pride, empathy, and excitement in the audience. The creative decisions it takes to tell a story that can strongly convey these emotions is a difficult skill to master. However, this opportunity provides a chance for me to improve that skill. Exposing myself to various opportunities and having a diverse perspective of the world could foster my curiosity and creative mindset to tell stories in a more exciting and engaging way.
By joining this project, I will be able to better my storytelling and take on projects from a more advanced angle while also passing on what I’ve learned and experienced to my peers. Lastly, I hope to achieve a stronger sense of confidence and independence from this project. Visiting a foreign country and engaging with various people, customs, and traditions is a rare opportunity.
This trip is more than just an opportunity to work on a one-of-a-kind project. It provides an opportunity to truly experience life on your own and navigate the world around you. It’s important that Ball State helps mold us into independent, well-rounded individuals, and opportunities like this are key to that development.
Nate Locker