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Columbia Gorge News
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
www.columbiagorgenews.com
TDHS grad headed to film school
Avery Winwood
Neita Cecil
■ By Columbia
Gorge News
Avery Winwood has liked telling
stories her whole life, mostly
through theater, which she has
been involved with since she was
just 8 years old.
But then Winwood, a 2021 The
Dalles High School graduate, took a
video production class last fall, and
discovered she liked this new way
of telling stories.
Gisell Carabantes
In fact, she used one of her
videos in her successful application
to famed film school Ithaca College
in New York, where she’s headed
in the fall. Her first semester as a
freshman, she’ll be able to use the
film equipment there, something
other programs don’t allow until
junior year.
She describes her attraction to
telling stories: “I think it’s a very
human thing to want to tell stories
and create things. And at least for
me, creating stories is a way to ex-
press myself and my emotions, and
I used acting as the way to explore
emotions that I maybe hadn’t felt
before.
“Film is just something I want to
explore and learn more about and
hopefully by the time I graduate
from college I’ll have the skills to
make stories and share them with
the world.”
She said, “I think cinematog-
raphy is really interesting and if
I’m watching a movie, I’m really
analyzing the cinematography in
the film. I make little short videos
Karla Baraja
HRVHS grads earn
Ford Scholar awards
Trisha Walker
■ By Columbia
Gorge News
Hood River Valley High School’s
class of 2021 has two Ford Scholar
Program award recipients: Gisell
Carabantes of Dee and Karla
Barajas of Hood River. This fall,
Carabantes will head to the
University of Portland to study
sociology with a criminology focus,
and Barajas to the University of
Oregon, where she will double
major in Japanese and biology and
minor in Spanish.
Gisell Carabantes
Carabantes found out she had
received the Ford scholarship on
her way to a tennis match in May.
“I cried,” she said. “I couldn’t
all the time. I’ll get inspired by like
maybe a song. And I just like to
make little short things like in a day
or two.”
She just uses her iPhone 8 for
her creations. “Nothing fancy,” she
said. She did buy a film editing app
though. The short film she sent to
Ithaca was a black and white silent
film titled “Insani-Tea.” It took the
concept that insanity is doing the
same thing every day and expecting
a different outcome.
She was also in the film. It was
about the daily routine of someone
who gets up at the same time, goes
downstairs, boils water for tea. “The
hidden thing that is kind of hard to
tell in the video, there’s a shot of the
person drinking the tea, and there’s
a pill in there too.”
The film ends with the person
spilling their tea all over the table.
He friends regularly end up in
her short films. “My camera roll is
filled with just little clips of things
we do, like if we go out on little ad-
ventures.” She enjoys creating those
memories.
It can take a surprisingly long
amount of time to do a one-minute
video. “One time I made a video
and it took nine hours to edit. It
was insane, I kind of wanted to cry
afterwards. I got inspired and I just
didn’t feel like I could do anything
else until I got this video made, so
that was funny.”
Most of the time it takes her 2-3
hours to do a one-minute video.
She likes cinematography, which
includes factors such as how to lay
out a shot, what angle it’s coming
from, how the camera moves, and
how close the subject is to the
camera.
Her career aspirations right now
are leaning toward music videos. “I
often get inspired by music.”
But she can’t use other people’s
music because it’s copyrighted. So
she’s turned to a YouTube channel
that’s full of non-copyrighted mu-
sic. It often doesn’t have lyrics, she
said, “But it works.”
Usually what sparks her creativity
is hearing the rhythm of the beat in
a song, “because I can imagine how
a transition would look between
shots. That’s one of the big things
for me, I get excited by transitions
between scenes.” Especially if that
transition happens “exactly on the
beat drop.” Her ultimate dream
would be to make a movie. She
writes sometimes, “so maybe I
could write my own.”
She started a screenplay “but it
didn’t get very far.” Her tastes run
toward drama. “I don’t feel I’m very
good at comedy.”
For a long time, Winwood, who
has taken a variety of Advanced
Placement, college-level courses
in high school, didn’t know what
she wanted to study in college. Her
favorite subject was history. “I love
learning about the past.”
Unsurprisingly, the pandem-
ic made school harder. “I didn’t
think it would be that bad, but
winter came and I just felt really
stuck. I didn’t feel motivated at all.
And the added stress of having to
complete college and scholarship
applications.”
hold back the tears when I told my
parents. We were all very happy
and excited that my hard work paid
off. This scholarship will allow me
to continue my education without
the fear of draining my parents. No
words can describe how grateful I
am for this opportunity.”
She has been in the AVID
program — Advancement Via
Individual Determination — since
middle school and said it has
helped prepare her for the road
ahead. “Throughout high school,
the AVID class and teacher, Mr.
(Doug) Beardsley (HRVHS AVID
coordinator), have been very
supportive and helpful,” she said. “I
felt very comfortable and confi-
dent when talking to teachers and
mentors about college because I
recognized the immense support
the school provides.”
She chose University of Portland
because of the school’s strong
sociology and psychology pro-
grams and study abroad opportu-
nities. “As of this moment, I want
to pursue the career of a detective
and hopefully an FBI agent. I do
not have a set long-term goal, but
getting my bachelor’s degree is one
goal that I will definitely achieve.”
Carabantes has been involved
in the HRV LEOs club since her
freshman year; her volunteer
work with the club has included
the FISH Food Bank and Laundry
Love, as well as the monthly bottle
and can drives. During the sum-
mer, she has worked picking cher-
ries, which she feels has helped
shape her into the person she is.
“… The hard work taught me
determination and perseverance,”
she said. “It wasn’t until recently
that I began to work at Kobe Sushi
and Bar restaurant to gain more
experience in the work field.”
She also played tennis for HRV
and enjoys going out with friends
or spending time with her family.
“All the work I have done has
been dedicated to my parents, who
came to the U.S. with a dream for
a better future for their children,”
Carabantes said. “With nothing,
they always made sure I had ev-
erything I needed. I am extremely
thankful for them.”
she’d been awarded the scholar-
ship, she said she felt happy and
proud, and “also very relieved
knowing that all my undergrad was
going to be paid for — including
study abroad programs, which I
am excited about! This scholarship
will allow me to spend all my time
studying and interning at different
eye clinics instead of having to take
on multiple part time jobs.”
Barajas has played basketball,
lacrosse and soccer throughout
middle school and high school.
She also founded the HRV anime
club and has been involved other
clubs such as PERIOD, GirlUp,
and HOSA (Health Occupations
Students of America). At 14, she
began working in cherry packing
houses; last year, she also worked
in the orchards. She is currently
employed at a restaurant.
In her free time, she enjoys
collecting manga, weightlifting,
hanging out with her friends and
drawing. “I’d like to give a big shout
out to Mr. (Eric) Keller (social
studies) for being the best teacher
ever,” she said. “Keller has always
given me advice, helped me with
assignments, and always listened
to me complain about hardships
I’ve faced. I wouldn’t be where I am
today without him.”
Karla Barajas
Barajas is interested in optome-
try, with a long-term goal of setting
up an organization that aids the
unhoused community and those
suffering from poverty. Receiving
the Ford scholarship will help her
achieve that goal. Upon learning
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