MAP juniors travel to LA to tour film colleges, studios

From May 16-20, the MAP juniors will embark on their annual trip to Los Angeles to expand their knowledge about media. Around 40 students will spend an extended weekend in Southern California, furthering teamwork as they bond with fellow students and teachers.

“I think it will be really fun to be with your [peers] but not doing academic stuff,” said junior Olivia Anderson, a member of the MAP student leadership team. “I think it’ll give us a chance as a MAP class to get closer and bond a little bit.”

MAP program head Tony Palma said he looks forward to getting to know students outside of class as well.

“On the trip, it’s fun for me to interact with students in a different way than you would in the classroom,” Palma said. 

The trip acts as a culminating activity for the junior MAP students, allowing them to see what they have learned being put into practice. 

“I think it’s a cool educational experience and reward for being in the MAP program and doing all the work that we’ve done,” Anderson said.

The students plan to visit film-related attractions around Los Angeles, including various colleges such as USC and studios like Warner Brothers.

“L.A. is the heart of the film industry and it has been for a long time,” Palma said. “We want to give students an opportunity to see that.”

Anderson said the students look forward to the opportunity to learn about other studios and incorporate this knowledge into future projects.

“Since we have a really impressive facility at our school, I think it’ll be cool to compare it to the colleges and studios,” Anderson said. “We can see how they do things there and bring what we learn back to what we do here.”

Although the trip took a lot of time to plan, Palma hopes students will find it both fun and educational.

“The Media Arts students have said year after year that they had a great time and enjoyed it,” Palma said. “It’s one of the most memorable events they’ve had.”