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Fayette County High video technology and broadcasting teacher Jamey Trask helps his students find a fulfilling future.
An athlete and an artist growing up, he didn’t plan to be a teacher. He studied graphic design in college and started out on that career path. He worked at a printing company and later a textile plant. Even if they weren’t his dream jobs, he took key pieces from those learning experiences.
“I learned a lot about manufacturing, and I learned a lot about process. I learned a lot about people,” he said. “I got to know about people and how important it is to not overlook people who may not get paid the most but they have a lot of experience.”
It was natural to move into education. He enjoyed working with kids at his church, and both his mother-in-law and father-in-law were teachers in Fayette County. Trask started out teaching special education and coached football and baseball for many years at Fayette County High.
He had been making highlight reels for the football team when he heard through the grapevine that the school’s then-principal was looking to start up a morning announcement broadcast. He offered up his services because he already knew how to shoot and edit video, and he started with one class in a regular classroom with one camera and the cheapest editing software he could find.
It caught on quickly, and he started adding onto their equipment with a lot of grants and donations. They now have a full complement of Mac computers, recording and editing bays, and a studio Trask slowly pieced together.
“When people see the benefit in what you’re doing, they’ll add on even more.”
He is in a special place to reach students with the film industry all around us, an unbelievable benefit for kids in his class interested in a career in the film industry. They have been able to literally walk across the street and visit a set on the school’s track.
“This is a great place. Most other places around the country they can’t go outside and see somebody filming,” he said. “I want you to see what’s in your backyard, literally what’s in your backyard, and what the possibilities are. It makes it seem real.”
Trask also reaches those who are just there to learn something different.
“The one thing I can teach everybody is employability skills,” he said. “How to be on time, how to act in the workplace.”
His goal is to help his students find something fulfilling to do with their lives after graduation.
“I just want to see kids be successful and find passion in what they may want to do after high school,” he said. “If you enjoy waking up to go to your job, no matter what it is no matter how much you make, then you found it.”
Each year is a refreshing challenge with a new set of kids.
“It’s a passion. I don’t know that I’ll ever quit.”
Do you know a Citizen like Jamey Trask? We’d love for you to nominate them for a future Citizen of the Week.
Anyone in Fayette or Coweta County can nominate a local resident to be featured. Submissions must include between 100 and 500 words explaining why your nominee deserves the spotlight and a photo of them. (Submissions without a photo cannot be accepted.) Fill out the nomination form here:
Each week, one honoree is celebrated in The Citizen, giving us all a chance to recognize the people who enrich our community with their character and care.
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