Alec Oppenheim: Basically In Control
In need of fresh air and photo opportunities, Alec Oppenheim suggests we go outside. We walk and talk, and after accurately guessing my GPA as if it was no big deal, we discover that we have similar college aspirations. At this point, we have known each other for about twenty minutes — but let’s go back to the beginning.
The two of us came to Montclair State University’s Summer Journalism Workshop in search of professional experience and a taste of the media community of which we both hope to be a part.
He loves to be behind the scenes, but when asked if he would consider himself a writer, he responded with a very adamant “no” not one, but three times. Message received.
Alec’s title of Technical Director of media productions at Wayne Hills High School was far from handed to him. He began at the bottom, and was determined to get to the top as soon as he walked into his TV production elective, which he had chosen at random. Though he doesn’t necessarily know what he was expecting, he does know that “producing was nothing I imagined.” He also says he was coerced by his parents to take the course in the first place.
When asked what his job entails, the almost-seventeen-year-old replied, “I’m basically in control of everything.”
While delving deeper into the topic, I realized that this does not actually seem very far off, as he has input on everything from angles to content. He quite literally directs everything technical.
Being able to broadcast and record the world of sports interested him quite a bit, and he wants to pursue it in college.
Alec is someone who knows where he wants to be, and seems to know how to get there, as expressed in a quote he recollects, something along the lines of: “If you think for one second that you can’t do this, you can’t.”
Alec came to Montclair State this summer to improve on skills that may be useful to him in his prospective field.
Just don’t call him a writer.
