Two Stride K12 Students Pursue Their Passion for Filmmaking to Forge a Future Career Path

Online learning comes with a number of different benefits, as many families who’ve made the switch can attest to. This is especially true for Christien and Camden Washington, two brothers who are currently attending a Stride K12 school. For them, online school has provided them with enough flexibility in their schedules to pursue the passion for filmmaking.

Both young students found their passion early after one of them was tasked with doing a book report and was told that he could make a video instead of completing a traditional written report. “One day, my brother came home from school, and he had to do a book report project,” Christien said. “He had a couple of options of what he could do, and one of those options was to make a video. That was the first short film we ever filmed. We went in the backyard, shot some film, and made a movie out of it. I really fell in love with it, and from that moment on, it became something that I really wanted to do for the rest of my life. It is something that I wanted to pursue for my career.” Since that day, Christien and Camden have found ways to balance their schoolwork with their future career path. To that end, both have already received impressive accolades. Camden won the award for best child actor at the Los Angeles International Indie Film Festival, and Christien won the award for the best young filmmaker at that same festival.

Both have clear-cut goals, and they have set themselves up to succeed in their respective careers. Camden would like to become a professional actor, and Christien would like to own a film production and music production company. The company will be a family affair and will include their brothers and sister as well.

At this rate, they are well on their way to accomplishing their goals, especially considering how well they have adapted in the face of obstacles. Christien described one of the challenges he faced while shooting a film titled, Domino Effect. In it, there is a courtroom scene in which they needed to film the judge against a green screen and had to film all of the other actors in the courtroom separately to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions. Then, Christien used computer imagery and effects to make it appear as if everyone was in the same place at the same time. Rather than feeling discouraged by the challenges posed by these restrictions, Christien saw the opportunity in them. “Challenges are there to open up your mind and make you think differently to show you that there are different ways to cross the finish line,” he said.

For both brothers, attending K12 schools has shown them the benefits of advancing their careers years before they graduate from high school. According to both, as long as you’re working on something you’re passionate about, there are no limits to what you can achieve. “Follow your passion and find something that you love to do and pursue that. You want to have something that you wake up to and feel good about doing every day,” Christien said.

Is K12 the right fit for your child? Learn more about Stride K12 schools and Career Prep programs now!