The NYSSSA program opened my eyes to types of filmmaking that I had never been exposed to previously. My high school, Kingston High School, has no film or media program. Since attending, I have begun making more experimental films, having now much more confidence than I had before in expressing myself as an artist. It was a truly enlightening experience, the most life changing and educational that I could have possibly hoped for. I made the best friends of my life, people that I am now collaborating with on projects, people that I could have never hoped to meet while still in high school without this program. For that alone, for the shift in perspective I’ve undergone by becoming their friend and collaborator, I am eternally grateful to the program. — Justin Conley