They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a video? Phil Carter can tell you the value of that.
Since November, Carter has been lending his time, video equipment, and his expertise to International Oasis. As a creative director volunteer, he has been an integral part of making sure the message of International Oasis becomes as widespread as possible.
After being approached by Cameron Underdown, International Oasis’ Executive Director, the idea of having high-quality promotion videos being produced soon transformed into reality.
“I wanted to help make videos for the organization so they could have something to show people when raising funds. I love what the organization stands for, and it’s easier to have something visual when translating a message than words alone.”
Since his involvement, Carter has created over a dozen videos ranging from topics such as event coverage to donor and student interviews. When asked what his favorite video to make so far has been for the organization, Carter says it’s not actually from an International Oasis event, but rather from a gathering where international students were hanging out on a snow day.
“When we started skouching, I didn’t think that it would turn into the video that I ended up making. A bunch of students from International Oasis and some other students from Young Life, an OU student org, were just all hanging out on the snow day from this semester, and I pulled my camera out. I didn’t want to forget seeing students who had never seen snow before the U.S. flying down hill on a couch on skies. At the end of the day I had all of this cool footage, and combined it with some clips of the making of the skouches. It was awesome.”
Skouching, for those who may not know, is skiing on couches down a snow-covered hill.
Through events such as that, International Oasis has been able to create a community where all feel welcome. At the core of the mission, that is what Carter aims to display through his videos for the organization.
“I fee a person sense of belonging, “ Carter says. “Everyone there is just trying to create this loving and caring community, and I enjoy being able to give back to an organization that welcomed me in and lets me use my talents in a unique fun way.”
As Carter nears the end of his academic career at Oakland, Carter says he encourages everyone just to start showing up to International Oasis events.
“You don’t have to go into it knowing you want to volunteer, being a friend is enough to start. That’s how this all started, after all; a group of people welcoming and befriending international students to make them feel wanted and loved.”
To learn more about events hosted by International Oasis, visit the events page on their website.
Written by Lauren Jurczyszyn
