By Chuck Logsdon
Henry Clay High School

Camera in hand, Noah Grebe documented the teacher protest that disrupted Kentucky’s state capitol last spring.

Instead of learning from his teachers in the classroom, the sophomore from DuPont Manual High School got on-the-job training in videography, photojournalism and state politics.

On March 12, more than 1,000 Kentucky teachers called in sick to protest certain education bills that were before the General Assembly. 

Many of these teachers gathered at the capitol to make their voices heard, and Grebe, 16, was there to document it for his school magazine, On the Record.

This was not Grebe’s first experience with videography, but it was the first time he realized he could combine his two passions — journalism and film.

“It was really cool to be able to film the teacher sickouts,” Grebe said. “My teacher asked me to find a ride to Frankfort in order to get some videos and pictures. I was honored to be called upon to do that. It was really cool because it was a really big event.” 

For Grebe, film has played an important role in his life. He attributes it to helping him overcome certain challenges, especially being shy. 

“[Film] is how I first made friends,” Grebe said. “It allows me to meet people, and it brings people together.” 

Part of Grebe’s love of journalism stems from being a sports fan. Attending sporting events with his family, he got the opportunity to see sports from a journalistic standpoint.

“When I would go to games I would see photographers with press passes and really big cameras,” Grebe said. “It would be really cool to see the pictures in the newspaper the next morning. I thought it was really cool to see the pictures being taken first hand.”    

University of Kentucky football and basketball games have had a major influence on Grebe. 

“Going to games is what got me interested in sports journalism,” Grebe said. “I think there is a lot of interesting stories besides just reporting the score… I think it’s interesting to tell stories about the players or stuff off the court that shakes things up.” 

Grebe’s passion for videography has grown as he has developed his skills for video production. 

“I’ve always just enjoyed editing stuff,” Grebe said, “but I didn’t really take it seriously until recently.”

Grebe’s drive is rooted in the human side of filmmaking. He wants his work to touch people on a personal level. 

“My proudest moments are making videos and seeing how they affect people.” Grebe said. “Making people happy is really cool, like seeing them say, ‘Wow, I really like this,’ about one of my videos.”

In his upcoming junior year, Grebe will work for the CSPN sports-based journalistic publication at his high school. He also has begun to organize shooting music videos. 

“I found out, in Louisville, there are tons of struggling musicians and one thing that all of them want is music videos,” Grebe said. “I’m already planning to do one with a kid from another high school, I sent him some stuff I edited and we are just trying to figure out a date.”