Filmmaking is a format that some students love to be a part of, and here at Hilbert College, it’s something that the Digital Media And Communication departments’ students love to get involved with.

This year, there are some new updates to the studio room for filmmakers to look forward to with making their own films. Andrew Wozniak, a filmmaking DMAC student who will be leaving after the fall semester to fully commit to his field, said filmmaking can be fun and lead to a bright career.

“I started as concentrated in marketing, nowhere near filmmaking,” he said. “But, my sophomore year, I changed my concentration to journalism and part of that is doing the multimedia journalism, which is filming, interviewing and putting that into a short film, telling the story that you’re telling. Professor (Chris) Gallant, my advisor, recommended I took [COM 365] to get experience with using Adobe premiere, and just extra experience in making films.”

Wozniak said DMAC students will definitely get experience in filmmaking through the program.

“Yeah, Anything on campus, whether it was COM 365, it was COM 180 I believe, my freshman year where we made a commercial for Ten Lives Club, or helping with Brandon Moran, he was the film guy and I worked on a couple of commercials with him as of last year. Experience is key when you’re trying to build up a career.”

Now that this is Wozniak’s last semester at Hilbert College, he gave some advice to any new students looking to join the filmmaking program for DMAC students: “Just stick with it. Don’t get behind, because once you’re behind, it’ll pile up. It’s definitely worth it and it’s a good time. I’m looking forward to my future career, whether it’s filmmaking, journalism, or something completely different from there.”

For each semester, there’s something new to look forward to. This semester, Hilbert’s DMAC professor, Gallant, said advances are being made in the film studio in Paczesny Hall.

“We have finished the video production studio, which is a sound stage that people can record inside and that there’s set lighting. We got some new lights, we made it a black box studio setting, which is really helpful for individual filmmaking projects,” he said.

Gallant said the department is always working to update equipment and facilities for students.

“We also have a lot of great equipment for students to use, we do have a new Panasonic cinema camera that is Netflix approved,” he said. “We just taped  a remake of the short film, Lights Out, with that camera.”

Gallant said many students who’ve been through the filmmaking program have gone on to have successful careers in their own ways.

“Yeah. We absolutely do have students do [film and production],” he said. “Probably the most notable student that we’ve had go through our program, go into the filmmaking industry and is working in there right now is Tom Wills. He has the designation of being a member of the society of camera operators.”

He also mentioned Ryan Fleet, who works in commercial production.

With filmmaking at Hilbert, there seems to be a future that Gallant is excited about.

“Students have entered their films in film festivals and even won in the past,” he said. “People have entered films from our program and production work outside their program. Now that we’re back and in person, I think we will be moving back to doing [production]. It’s my goal to try to enter the films that we produce in COM 365 and 375 to short film festivals.”

 The Hawks faced off against AMCC opponent La Roche today at home in the Hafner Recreation Center. It was a close game with La Roche who stays undefeated in AMCC play. The Hawks fall to 1-5 after the 65-64 defeat.

HIGHLIGHTS
Ashley Schroeder led the way for the Hawks today collecting a team high 23 points in the loss while also managing to wrangle in 4 rebounds. Mackenzie Catan and Grace Zabawa both earned 12 points. Zabawa also managed to get 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Alesia Hamm led the team with 13 rebounds and Maria Spinelli also helped in the rebound category earning 8.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first quarter was a tight knit one where no team could gain an edge. La Roche started off the game doing a full court press but the Hawks stayed aggressive managing to constantly break it and causing them to switch up their game plan. Maria Spinelli was the first to score for Hilbert making 2 free throws. This would Ashley Schroeder as she would go on to score 9 points the rest of the first quarter from all around the court. The quarter would end in a stalemate at 13.
• The Hawks aggressive play led to a lead in fouls and they continuously cashed in helping to grow a lead in the second. Belle Oakley and Alesia Hamm would both hit for 2 at the start of this quarter. Due to the Hawks strong play La Roche switched back to a full court press with 2 minutes left in the half but this would not stop the Hawks. Ashely Schroeder kept up her good play as well helping Hilbert gain a 31-23 lead going into halftime.
• La Roche came out of the halftime break strong and managed to gain their first lead of the game until Mackenzie Catan hit from 3 point range to take back the lead 37-36. La Roche continued to push but again she would hit from 3 to tie the game back up at 40. La Roche would then score in the paint three times in a row and would regain the lead. Grace Zabawa finished this quarter strong with multiple made layups to keep it close going into the final quarter of play.
• With the close game being on the line the Hawks did not stop and fought back into it. With 2 minutes remaining La Roche led by 3 until Mackenzie Catan hit a baseline jumper and made it a 1 point game. The Hawks began to foul attempting to get possession of the ball and in the final seconds of the game down by 3 Grace Zabawa would hit from deep but would need to one foot further away to make it a 3. The Hawks would lose by 1 point, 65-64.

GAME NOTES
Hilbert shot 23 for 68 today while also shooting 5 for 12 from 3 point range and 13 for 18 from the free throw line. La Roche managed to dominate the game in the paint as they scored more than half of their points in the paint with 38 while Hilbert only scored 20.

UP NEXT
Next on the schedule for them is an away game against the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. This game will be on Wednesday January 25^th at 7:00 PM.

Editor’s Note: This story was shared with The Scribe by the Hilbert Athletics Department.

 Today’s game lived up to the AMCC Game of the Week billing.

After taking a five-point lead to the locker room, the Hilbert College Men’s Basketball team hit a dry spell the first seven minutes after the break and fell in an 83-74 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference game against the undefeated Redhawks from La Roche University.

The Redhawks shifted gears in the second half and ran their offense to the rim as opposed to settling for shots from the perimeter as they did the first twenty minutes.  Hilbert continued to pound the ball in the paint both halves and were successful except for a short stretch early in the second half when La Roche pulled away.

HIGHLIGHTS

Edward Perez (3 assists) earned his fifth double-double of the season, paring 18 points and 10 rebounds, earning game-high honors with four on the offensive glass.  Perez went 8-for-17, the first time this season he led the team in field goal attempts and pulled down all four offensive rebounds as the Hawks fought back into the game late. 

Quran Briggs led Hilbert with 21 points, with one stretch carrying the Hawks to the 37-32 lead at intermission and Eric Jackson added 11 points and nine rebounds while dishing a team-best four assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• La Roche scored first off the tip and then each team took turns trading baskets the first eight minutes of the first half.
• The Redhawks started the game in man with defensive trapping on high pick and rolls before they switched to a 1-3-1 defense while the Hawks defended with their own zone or man-to-man defense.
• There were five occasions where the score was tied and four lead changes until La Roche built an 18-14 score at 11:51.
• Perez finished a three-point play to pull within one point, but the Redhawks hit a three-pointer on their next trip to go back up by four.
• Austin Boies responded immediately for Hilbert to inch back to a 22-23 score.
• Three more lead changes happened and then Zach Miller hit two free throws which lifted Hilbert by two (28-26) at 5:59.
• The Hawks kept the lead through the rest of the half, with three different players lighting up the score board.
• La Roche opened the second half hitting back-to-back 3-pointers and took a 38-37 lead at 17:28.
• The Redhawks maintained a 2-possession separation on the scoreboard for four minutes but then built a double figure lead 57-47 with just under 12 minutes left in the game.
• La Roche continued to push the ball in transition and went from six first-half fast break points to 18 by the final horn.
• The Hawks battled back from a 14-point deficit and made it an 8-point game before surrendering a late-game free throw to set the 83-74 final.

GAME NOTES

• Hilbert cooled from the opening first half shooting percentage (46.7%) to 43.3% after 40 minutes and hit 14-20 from the foul line.
• La Roche improved their shooting as the game progressed after taking it to the rim the second half, going from 36.8% to 59.4% (47.1% for the game).
• Hilbert was tagged with 10 turnovers which La Roche converted into 20 points and the Redhawks out rebounded the hosts 83-74.
• Devon Darrell propelled La Roche to the win recording 26 points, (11-17 from field) seven assists and three rebounds. 

UP NEXT

Hilbert (4-2 AMCC) returns to the Hafner Recreation Center this Wednesday to host Pitt-Bradford (3-3) who just earned a three-point victory over Pitt-Greensburg this afternoon.  The Hawks will tip at 7pm against the Panthers January 25th.

Editor’s Note: This story was shared with The Scribe by the Hilbert Athletics Department

Hilbert College hosted an event celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with key note speaker Bishop Roderick Hennings delivering remarks to the campus community.

Hennings delivered an impassioned speech, urging students to try to heal the many divides that exist today in American culture, a reference to the aspirations of King.

“America is still divided,” Hennings said. “And what’s changing the culture is your generation.”

He told the crowd in Swan Auditorium that it is up to them to take advantage of the opportunity they have to make the world a better place.

“If we’re really going to have reconciliation, if we’re really going to change the backdrop of the world, we have to cross ethnic cultures.

Jamal Harris, the president of the Black Student Union, told his fellow students that message he often pulls from King’s teachings is to always hold onto hope, no matter how difficult things may seem.

“College is going to be one of the best times of your life,” Harris said. “You’re going to go through some unbelievably high, highs and with that some lows,” Harris said. “But those lows will not last forever. There is light at the end of the tunnel and for the sake of this generation, you must chose to hold onto hope.”

Dr. Deidre Debose, the college’s vice president of mission and equity, said she thought the program brought a great message to an increasingly diverse campus.

“In a addition to diversity we must have inclusion,” Debose said. “It doesn’t make sense to get a diverse group of people together without making sure we find ways to connect and make sure they are validated and heard and respected.”

The Annual Christmas Card event was held in Swan Auditorium last month. During the event Hilbert College’s President Michael Brophy played his piano to the tunes of Silent Night, Dashing Through the Snow, and to the theme of A Charlie Brown Christmas, as about a dozen students sang and danced to the tunes of President Brophy, all the while, being recorded on video which will be sent to friends of Hilbert College that live across the United States.

The end to the Fall 2022 semester is quickly approaching and some students are preparing to graduate while others are looking forward to Winter break.

Senior Gabrielle Jansen is wrapping up her final assignments of the semester as she gets ready to graduate in a few weeks. She encouraged students to take advantage of as many of the opportunities that Hilbert offers as possible during their time in college.

“I’m excited to finish and move on to the next chapter of my life,” Jansen said. “It will be quite a change to not be on campus every day.”

The college will host one more sporting event before the campus closes for break.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams are scheduled to play Friday December 16^th. The women will face Buffalo State at 5pm and the men will face Hiram at 7pm, both at Hafner Recreation Center.

Resident Assistant Abigail Dent encourages the resident student to look out for move out instructions before leaving campus for Winter break.

“I recommend going to your floor meetings and follow proper move out procedures and we can’t wait to see everyone again in the spring,” said Dent.

Twenty-four-hour quiet hours are now in effect in all of the residence halls up until hall closing Wednesday December 20^th at noon. Students are asked to return their keys to Trinity Hall before leaving campus for break.

Student Angelo DiNizo says he’s excited for break but is looking forward to next semester.

“With the semester coming to a close, everyone including myself is racing to the finish line to complete our last finals and assignments of the semester. It’s a bittersweet feeling to end this semester, since I’ll miss the relationships I’ve built with other students and faculty on campus, but I’m excited to spend some time with my family since I’m six hours away from home,” said DiNizo. “I’m excited for next semester and I hope to get out as much as I put into my studies by the time I graduate from Hilbert to become the best version of myself and be prepared to start my life ahead.”

As many students are looking forward to break, some will be completing their final chapter at Hilbert College and will be reminiscing on the memories they’ve made and the experiences they’ve had here.

“Hilbert College is truly a great institution that provided me with a lot of great memories and knowledge. The professors here are like no other. They really care about you and want to see you reach your goals. I know I’m going to miss this place once I graduate,” Jansen said. “Once a Hawk, always a Hawk.”

When going to college many students to take out student loans to help pay for school.

A Student loan is money you borrow from the federal government or private organization to help pay off college expenses. These must be paid off later with interest. After six months of graduating college, you must start paying off your loans. According to studentloanhero.com about 48 million Americans have student loan debt.

To help with student loan debt President Joe Biden announced a one-time student loan relief for people who are making less than $125,00, according to studentaid.gov With this debt relief you could get up to $20,000 in relief if you received a Federal Pell grant in college and meet the income requirements. Or you can get up to $10,000 in debt relief if you didn’t receive a Federal Pell grant in college and meet the income requirements.

A graduate student from Hilbert college Samantha said her student loan debt has caused her a great deal of stress.

“I’ve had to work a lot more hours in order to be able to pay all my bills along with my student loans,” said Samantha.

She said she recently applied for the student loan debt relief and if accepted the relief will lift a big weight off her shoulders.

“If my application goes through it’ll drop my debt from $23,000 to $3,000, and I can put all my focus back onto helping my family,” said Samantha.

To see if you qualify for the one-time Federal Student Loan Debt Relief you can visit studentaid.gov. Applying for this one-time debt relief ends on December 31st, 2022.

Hilbert’s Associate Bursar Beverly Szczur said “with people getting their debt forgiven they may consider going back to school to further their education.”

One of the most anticipated events of the semester took place in early November in the Swan auditorium.

Hilbert Reads, the annual campuswide collective reading event, welcomed author Craig Grossi, and his dog Fred, to Swan Auditorium  where he spoke about his journey and message early this month..

Gross is the author of the book “Craig and Fred”, a story about how he found his dog, and how they rescued each other.

Those attending showed support for Grossi and his dog from the start, giving a round of applause and some cheers for Fred. It was a positive atmosphere filled with laughs, some tears, and a few naps from Fred. After telling his story, Grossi was welcoming to questions and said he was “most excited” to talk and answer questions for students.

Grossi was a marine and served in Afghanistan, and found Fred while deployed. In his books, he talks about his experiences while serving and the post-war struggles he faces. Fred taught Craig an important lesson, he said.

“We can find ways to wag our tails regardless of what we’re going through.”

Grossi preached “stubborn positivity” to the audience.

“It’s most important to focus on the bad, when you focus on the bad, you can find the good in it” he added.

Grossi ended off the night with a book signing, (Fred a paw signing) after answering numerous questions from the audience. Struggling with PTSD hasn’t been an easy road for him. Being able to talk to the youth and publish a book about them hasn’t felt “real” to him, he said.

One of the freshmen attending shared that it was an “inspirational” experience. Grossi “was open and honest about his experiences” using these experiences he “found strength to share his problems with others to help benefit and inspire them.”

He ended with a final takeaway to share with students.

“As humans, there is always a reason for us to be happy,” Grossi said. “It may just be difficult to find it sometimes.”