Niños católicos participan en un coro decembrino

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Erin Cole

SALT LAKE CITY — Erin Cole earned a Student Emmy at the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences held in October.

Cole, a 2011 graduate of Judge Memorial Catholic High School and now a sophomore at the University of Utah, participated in the KUED Channel 7 "Navigating Freedom: A Utah Youth Perspective" series, which featured the work of eight Utah youth Spy Hop filmmakers as they explored what freedom meant to them.

Cole worked with Mallory McDaniel on the documentary film "Sunday," which was about a refugee from Sudan and his definition of freedom, his hopes and dreams in life, said Cole. She added that making the documentary was an eye-opening and humbling experience.

"This young man talked about becoming the man that his father never got a chance to be," she said.

KUED approached Spy Hop to do a 30-minute project that would feature four short films from young filmmakers, said Frank Feldman, Spy Hop mentor and arts instructor.

"I recruited students of mine, like Erin, to be in the project," Feldman said. "I was confident in their abilities and I knew that they would be able to produce something that was worthy of broadcast. KUED gave us the prompt ‘What does freedom mean to you?,’ which led to discussions and we produced four really solid concepts."

Two student filmmakers were assigned to shoot and edit the films, while Feldman was part of the writing process, he said. "These girls had already made films so I was confident in their production abilities and they all won an Emmy."

Cole began at Spy Hop in Feldman’s Reel Stories class.

"She made a nice film in there, and then expressed interest in going into my advanced class, Pitch Nic, and it was in that class that I recruited her for the KUED project," Feldman said. "She was always very eager and willing to work and learn. I just expect great things from her."

Cole became interested in film while watching videos on YouTube and thinking about how she would edit them, she said. She credits two Judge Memorial teachers with nurturing her interests: Linda Simpson, English, and Chris Sloan, English and Media Arts.

"They were really supportive and allowed me to work on pitches and practicing the craft," said Cole.

Simpson remembers Cole as an outstanding student beginning with 9th grade English, she said. "She loved reading and writing and worked very hard at both," Simpson said. "She found her passion particularly in making documentaries. Perhaps I was a small influence, but I believe Erin pursued her dream with real zeal. She has grown into an artist. During her senior year, it was so thrilling when she was invited to screen her film at the San Francisco Women’s Film Festival and actually attended the Q and A. Her maturity was her strong suit among much older and more experienced filmmakers."

Sloan agreed that Cole has done some great work, "and I have no doubt that she’ll do even more amazing things," he said. "She is one of those students who threw herself wholeheartedly into her interests. She took on projects that she cared deeply about and gave it her all. She’s a great example of what you can do if you truly apply yourself."

"Sloan and Simpson really had an impact on my life," said Cole. "They were there to listen, and to guide me and define my ideas. I also had great mentors at Spy Hop, who gave me technical feedback. I owe everything to Spy Hop."

Cole would someday like to direct movies or stay in the journalism realm of production, she said.

"Winning an Emmy is a surreal experience," she said.