From Camp Videographer to NYC Production Manager
This week I was honored to interview Huawni Alumnae Jessie Trespeses. Jessie served on the Huawni Summer Staff for two summers as our videography intern. She is now a big-time film producer in New York City. Through her Huawni experience, Jessie learned more about who she truly is. Enjoy the interview!
TEA: Introduce yourself- name, age, years at Huawni, what capacity, where you graduated from, jobs since then and current job?
JT: My name is Jessie Trespeses. I’m 23 years old, and I spent two summers (2014/2015) at Huawni as a videographer. I graduated from Baylor University in 2016 with a B.A. in Film & Digital Media. Since then, I’ve been working at Zealot, a creative advertising agency based in New York City that specializes in trailers, spots, and promos for film and television. We’ve come across various campaigns including Westworld, Lion, I, Tonya, and most recently, A Wrinkle in Time. I was recently promoted to the position of Production Manager, where I coordinate between all of our creative teams in overseeing the general workflow of our active projects and the company overall.
Camp serves as a place of personal growth, encouragement, and belonging not just for the campers, but also for the staff. – Jessie
TEA: In 100 words, how would you describe your overall experience at Huawni?
JT: Only 100 words?? I feel like I could write a novel! I never went to summer camp growing up so when I was hired to work at one, I immediately knew this would bring out my inner child…and I was right! Simple fun really is the most fun. I have so many fond memories at Huawni with campers and counselors from fishing on a Tuesday night to winning Tribal Comp (#caddoforlife!). Even now, I still crave for that Shelby County breeze (and Ms. Ada’s fried chicken of course). Yes, there were some challenges to being a camp videographer. After all, spending 10 weeks straight running around under the hot Texas summer sun isn’t always going to be a piece of cake. But I consider the overall experience rewarding and significant to my personal growth and career.
I gained practical skills with video/editing equipment that made me more versatile as a visual storyteller.
TEA: How valuable was the learning experience as a videographer? What did you learn? How did what you learn help lay a foundation for your current job?
JT: Without doubt, my learning experience as a Huawni videographer was an important stepping stone to where I am today. Working alongside fellow videographer (and super-talented) Will Aker, I gained practical skills with video/editing equipment that made me more versatile as a visual storyteller. We were tasked with managing all video production in tight turnarounds so it was essential to learn to coordinate, communicate, multi-task, and organize time as a team. Equally important, being a Huawni videographer taught me resilience and persistence. As much as Camp was fun, it was also energy-intensive. But I recognized that if you stay focused and adamant in pursuing your goals, you will achieve them – which is a motto I still carry around with me.
The fast-paced and lively environment of a summer camp absolutely prepared me for the busyness of New York City. The trailer industry, specifically, is very deadline-driven so as Production Manager, it’s one of my responsibilities to ensure that projects are finished and delivered on time. To do that, I collaborate with multiple teams of editors, graphic designers, and audio engineers, applying the same foundational skills I acquired 3-4 years ago at Huawni!
But I recognized that if you stay focused and adamant in pursuing your goals, you will achieve them – which is a motto I still carry around with me. – Jessie
TEA: What was the favorite video you helped create while at camp? What made it your favorite? add link pls!
JT: It’s hard to pick a favorite, but the highlight videos for Session 2 Session 3 in 2015 easily stick out to me. We shot hours and hours of footage during each of those 2-week long sessions so it was a challenge to try to fit all of the fun into 12-minute-long videos. You definitely can’t blink as you watch them because they’re so action-packed!
Session 2 Highlight Video
Session 3 Highlight Video
I also enjoyed helping create the end-of-the-summer video we presented to the 2015 Huawni Staff. Everyone had worked incredibly hard that summer so it was great to top it all off with a 40-minute-long highlight video of their own to celebrate them.
Camp helped me learn my true significance as a creative person. – Jessie
TEA: How did Camp help you learn more about your true significance (i.e. that you are one-of-a-kind, unique throughout time…you have unique giftings)?
JT: Camp serves as a place of personal growth, encouragement, and belonging not just for the campers, but also for the staff. I loved being part of the Huawni team because of how supportive we were of each other. We acknowledged and affirmed each other simply for who we were. We surrounded ourselves and our campers with Christ-like love.
Additionally, Camp helped me learn my true significance as a creative person. During Closing Ceremonies, I loved to sit in during the highlight video presentation. But not to watch the video itself since I’d already seen it a thousand times in the edit process. Instead, I would face the audience and watch their reactions to it. For me, after a week (sometimes two) of shooting and editing video day-and-night, it was always fulfilling to see how excited campers would be from watching themselves on the big screen. My favorite reactions came from the parents — I’ve seen moms and dads smile, laugh, and even cry! I thought it was cool that I could bring fun, special moments from that session back to life for them so they could have a piece of that awesome Huawni experience. Camp helped me realize my gift for visual storytelling; that I could create something impactful on others to generate genuine, emotional responses.
TEA: How did Camp help you learn more about your true purpose (i.e. Your calling in life)?
When I was hired to join the video team at Huawni, I remember being tremendously ecstatic because this was my first job ever as a film student. Before film, I was actually majoring in anthropology/pre-med at Baylor. Raised in a family of nurses and doctors, I was only exposed to the medical field so naturally I had planned to become a physician. But soon into my college career, I realized medicine wasn’t my true passion. I loved film more so I changed majors. I took a leap of faith to follow this new path – and I landed in the Piney Woods of East Texas.
At Camp, working and playing in the great outdoors removed all the other distractions in life, which allowed me to further my passion in telling stories to encourage and inspire others. It gave me a moment of clarity: This is what God is calling me to do, and this is what I love to do.
TEA: Is there anything else you want to say?
JT: Having such a positive and enriching experience at Huawni, I would 100% recommend the summer video and film internship to anyone who is looking to grow as a visual storyteller and servant leader. It really is a job like no other just as much as Huawni is a place like no other.
