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by Aliya Weiss '04
As a Nueva student matures, she finds her way from the pre-K slide, to the kindergarten lawn, to the Mansion courtyard and, finally, across the bridge and up the stairs that lead to the Middle School -- the land of novel projects, global simulations, foreign languages, and Silk Road re-enactments. As she makes her way up, she might stop by the Lower Meadow to build a fort in the olive grove, and then pause outside the bamboo forest to count the stalks in base four. Or perhaps she’d rather just take a minute to peer out through the windows of the oversized dollhouse, quietly observing the varying shades of brown and green that line the ballet lawn.
By the time she reaches 8th grade, she knows all about the camouflage techniques of a red-eyed tree frog, the value of “I statements” in conflict resolution, and the application of architectural design theories in building a city out of milk cartons. She has also studied in-depth the subtle vocal harmonies beneath Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, and she can calculate the reproduction rate of rabbits using the Fibonacci sequence.
She marches onward, taking a deep breath -- a velvet silence -- as she reaches the final step; a pause for profundity. This moment marks the beginning of the culmination of all that she has learned: the eighth grade recital project -- an individual yearlong project that must, in some way, benefit the world. Each student uses this time to fully explore a subject of choice, whether it’s making a digital recreation of the Amazon rainforest’s ecosystem, applying the golden ratio to artwork from the Italian Renaissance, or researching the connection between genetics and perfect pitch -- every student is encouraged to pursue his or her individual passion.
For Morgan Ome ’11, the recital project presented itself as an opportunity, not only to explore her passion for writing and documentary filmmaking, but also to promote global education of ovarian cancer. Originally, she had planned to film and interview Kathy, an ovarian cancer survivor and her close family friend, but in August 2010, Kathy’s story took a tragic and unexpected turn when her cancer returned, and, this time, she was unable to beat it. Deeply affected by this loss, Ome was unsure of how to proceed, but she soon realized, in the wake of this tragedy that it was then, more than ever, that Kathy’s story needed to be told. What was, at first, a strong desire to raise awareness, soon became a creative outlet and a profound and hopeful meditation on loss.
Ome began her project during the summer before her eighth grade year. She taught herself the ins and outs of filmmaking, recruited Dr. Lee-May Chen, M.D., a cancer expert and clinical professor at the University of California San Francisco to be her mentor, and teamed up with Don Listwin, founder of The Canary Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding the discovery and development of tests for early cancer detection.
In September 2010 at the Ovarian Cancer 5k Race in Sacramento, Ome recorded her first footage for the documentary. She was able to interview a number of brave survivors who were willing to share their stories, and she also participated alongside them in the run. “Their stories were inspiring, moving, and informative,” said Ome. “All the interviewees had such unique perspectives on ovarian cancer and were very passionate and open about their experiences.”
Teal is the awareness color of ovarian cancer, which is why Ome titled her recital project The Teal Project. But, as Ome explains in her blog, “Teal is a type of bird, and yes, teal is a color, but to me teal represents a lot more. Teal symbolizes the past year that I’ve spent working on The Teal Project. Teal reminds me of Kathy, of Dr. Chen, of Don Listwin, of women I met at the 5k in September of 2010, of everyone involved in The Teal Project.”
Although Ome filmed, edited, and produced the entire documentary, she believed that her role behind the camera had to be passive -- she was simply capturing life as it happened; “A documentary’s purpose is to tell a story, to show real life, to teach and inform an audience,” explained Ome. “I just had to tell the story that wanted to be told.”
The documentary is a large component of The Teal Project; however, Ome utilized a number of different media in an effort to spread awareness. She created a blog when she began filming, and the posts range from news articles to videos to journal entries to photos, all of which, in some way, connect back to ovarian cancer, and on each post Ome offers awareness challenges for her followers. She believes that The Teal Project is something that everyone can belong to: “It’s not just a project, it’s an awareness movement.”
One month before graduation, the 8th grade class gathered for Recital Project Night among teachers, parents, mentors, and friends to celebrate the culmination of their academic journeys through Nueva. Ome’s presentation of her final project consisted of a three-minute introductory clip of her documentary followed by an interactive booth where she was able to discuss the progression of her project and continue to educate people about the disease. She also raised $180 by selling teal-colored jewelry, greeting cards, and ribbon pins, all of which were handmade with the help of her friends and family; the proceeds went to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition.
Ome wrote about her experience at Recital Night on her blog: “Tonight felt like a tribute to Kathy, and it felt right to honor and remember her by doing this project. I had a wonderful time sharing my experiences with others, showing my documentary, and culminating all my time and work in this exciting night of celebration.”
Ome explained that it was her peers and teachers who gave her the strength and encouragement that she needed to take on such a challenging project. “At Nueva I always felt supported,” she said. “So when I decided to do a documentary, I knew it would be difficult, and I knew I was aiming high, but I also knew that whatever I ended up with, if I was proud of my work, then everyone at Nueva would be as well.” Ome hopes to one day submit a film to the Sundance Film Festival.
Since graduation, Ome has continued to stay connected, both through Nueva’s summer community service trip to the Galapagos, and the summer camp, where she worked as a youth leader. “What I loved most about Nueva is the sense of community. I just felt so comfortable and loved,” explained Ome. “It’s such a magical place, because it feels so different from everywhere else, but it also feels like this is where I want to be -- this is where I belong, and there’s something about Nueva that draws me in. I think that’s why I’m still here.”
On July 30, Ome organized an event to premiere her full-length documentary. About 100 people attended, and she raised almost $800. After the screening, she participated in a panel discussion alongside Dr. Lee-May Chen, M.D. and Don Listwin, and she met a number of people who were deeply moved by her work and who shared her pain, having also lost a friend or family member to ovarian cancer. In her blog, Ome wrote of the audience’s response: “Many people said that the film was sad, but I like to think that it was also full of hope ... Death is [simply the] crossing from one world to another ... [and] even after death, friendship will never fade.”
In the fall, Ome will attend high school in Hawaii, where she plans to continue working on her documentary, creating new challenges on her blog, and expanding the awareness movement. The Teal Project marks Ome’s lifelong commitment to honoring the memory of Kathy, and all women affected by ovarian cancer. |
