Berkeley Students Create BIOS Virtual Tour

The PartnerRe “Dollars for Hours: Youth & Community in Partnership” program recently celebrated its eighth year of matching students from local schools with local charities to work on a variety of community projects. Under this unique partnership, each participating school receives $30,000 to be put toward classroom upgrades, scholarship funds, IT equipment, and other infrastructure projects and student support programs.

This year, students from the Berkeley Institute eagerly undertook a new type of community project with BIOS: the development—from script to post production—of a virtual tour of the BIOS station, educational facilities, and laboratories. BIOS receives hundreds of visiting students and school groups each year, many of whom are eager to see what life at BIOS, and in Bermuda, is like prior to their arrival.

Over the course of two months a team of seven students, guided by teachers Amanda Pilch and Tonisha Homes, visited BIOS to learn about the facilities and take photos and video footage, and then worked during class to develop a script, record a voice over narration, and compile the images into a polished product.

On Wednesday, December 11, 2013, the students were able to display the results of their hard work at the PartnerRe Dollars for Hours reception at BUEI. Not content to simply show a video, the Berkeley students recruited their peers at school to design and construct a beautiful display that highlighted the students’ project, as well as their experiences at BIOS.

After the holidays, the students will put finishing touches on the video, after which it will be posted to the BIOS website and YouTube channel for visitors, locals, and friends of BIOS to view and share. Be sure to check back to see the video! BIOS would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the Berkeley students and teachers who worked so hard to make this project a success – congratulations on your achievement!

The following students took part in the Dollars for Hours project:

Scriptwriters: Ayana Ming-Bean and Nari Williams
Script Editor: Kinye Watson
Photographers: Danielle Clark and Seta Douglas
Videographer/Editor: Marquedelle Rodriguez
Voiceovers: Ciboney Swan
Display Design & Construction: Damien Campbell, Zavante Garnett, and Lamar Samuels