CAMPER TO COUNSELOR
By Sara Latta
Hi, my name is Sara Latta and I’m a Drexel 2021 graduate. There I studied photography and public relations. What brought me to JTWO was that I want to get into producing, while at Drexel I realized that I like to be more in control of the creative side of things and problem-solving rather than just being the photographer.
These past two years after graduating I’ve been trying to figure out what my next steps are going to be. This is how I found myself these past two summers at my childhood summer camp. There is nothing like being stuck in the Catskill mountains for 4 months. Camp has always been somewhere where I could be myself, it’s a judgment-free zone for the campers and counselors too. So two summers barely any wifi, screaming kids, the hot sun, and surprisingly my film camera. What does a person do? Well for one of our off days we watched Love Island (UK) but we also talked about life, went on hikes and explored. I discovered that there is nothing like being a kid, the world is so grand and new to them that the possibilities are endless. It made me reflect on how my imagination as a kid was so big. I remember at one point I thought I was going to be an Olympic track star (I just started running that year).
There is nothing like a little kid’s imagination and fearlessness. Getting back that kind of creativity has been a struggle. I used that side of my brain for 4 years and it started to feel weak. It was nice to ask the kids questions and pick their brains to see where it goes. They inspired me every day whether it was finally passing the swim test or simply making a new friend. They taught me to not be afraid of new things and that you should always try something out at least once to make sure you like it or not. They also taught me that sometimes it’s nice to see the world in rose-colored glasses. I want to bring the energy into my work, this internship, and my life.
This project was created as part of the JTWO [INC]ubator Project. A semester long internship program built from the ground up to give young filmmakers, content creators, and all around hungry for a challenge individuals a place to stretch their creative minds while preparing them for the road ahead.