Reflection & Student-Produced Videos: City Root Youth Media Group Summer 2026

Oh, where to begin.

Last summer (2025) we knew we had something special. We knew we were doing something new and exciting that students were ready to buy into. The goal was a big one: make a docuseries on West Philly and Education that would inspire and bring about positive change to the School District of Philadelphia. With a little inspiration from School of Rock, we set out to make a movie about making a movie with students.

What we found, albeit a noble endeavor, was that we were outmatched and undermanned. The interviews became repetitive and ultimately the student voice involved in the project was limited. But we sure had a good time.

The kids took to the production aspect and under the bright production lights inside an old high school, they shined bright.

So this summer we shifted focus — create, learn, and make sure it’s a blast, while empowering the students voice on each and every project, while learning important skills in media that translate to careers in any number of different fields.

Instead of sit down interviews, we gave the students the full green light to develop their own content — from cinematic shorts to articles and news reports, they explored their voice, worked alongside one another in every phase of the production process and had a lot of fun doing it.

I couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved.

So please try to enjoy the videos as much as we enjoyed making them and check us out on Instagram and TikTok @cityrootwest

Some Sincere thank yous are in order for everyone who put their time, effort, and heart into this 6-week sprint.

First, the UPenn Netter Center for Community Partnerships who made this possible.

Bianca Del Rio, Joe Brand, Justin Weldon, and dedicated supervisor, Ms. Suzana Berger, who’s experience as a stage director and UPenn professor helped make the City Root Youth Media Group a professionally-run program and a fun, inclusive atmosphere.

We had the privilege and the pleasure of an expansive staff this summer.

Nia McCune kept us organized and active, as our other full-time program manager alongside myself. We couldn’t have done it without her.

Connor Arrison was our full-time UPenn student who showed up everyday ready to go, serving as a steady, do-it-all team member.

Cina He was only available once or twice a week but helped tremendously. She was one of our lead editors, put together a memorable zine activity for the students and got us into the Penn Virtual Reality Lab for a field trip.

Lynne Kim joined us after the first week and, like Connor, brought a positive energy and constant willingness to elevate the program.

Mariama and Malachi did a great job moving student projects along and helping wherever they were needed while they were available.

Thank you to everyone for their support, hard work, and dedication. It’s always nice when you know you have something good in front of you and are able to step back and recognize it. That’s what happened here.