As an intern at JAX for three months, I watched students expand their skills in media and music and helped them question the world around them in creative ways. While learning to make short documentary videos, we talked to local business owners and discussed whether gentrification was killing culture or establishing a better tomorrow for Jersey City. We edited together these anecdotes to tell the tale of Monticello Avenue in Jersey City. We collaborated with Youth Radio and re-imagined several abandoned storefronts, envisioning thriving people moving into the neighborhood and opening stories. Teaching the students media related skills and making jokes with them really made my experience at JAX worthwhile.

I learned how to use high-end computer programs and expand my knowledge on writing, film, and photography. From my experience at JAX, I worked with the student’s and developed healthy relationship with them. JAX is a creative outlet for teens that local high schools like McNair and Dickinson lack. Making friends that have different ideas than me benefitted all of us in the end.