SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — It’s back to school week for ABC 10News, as districts in our area return to the classrooms.
Reporter Marie Coronel went back to her alma mater, Eastlake High School, to see how much has changed for students on campus and in the classrooms.
"For me, this was more than just are reunion with my former TV Production teacher Rick Meads," Coronel said. "It’s about revisiting the past, and seeing how much has changed as you walk down the halls."
Coronel interviewed Meads in the same classroom she sat in more than a decade ago, aspiring to be a journalist.
Now in 2023, the program, this teacher and the classroom still have the same purpose: introducing students to the basics of TV production.
Meads said he starts each school year with a nod to the past.
“Showing them where we came from — pulling out the big VHS camera on your shoulder,” he said.
After a few weeks, these students produce their school announcements in the form of a newscast. But as with everything through the years, there have been a number of changes.
“It has changed so much every year, I have to learn something new," Meads said. "I have to keep up with the ever-changing technology.”
However, what hasn’t changed for Meads is his favorite moments as a teacher.
"You see students walk in, and they’re terrified... and although when the year is over and you see this confidence out of them — that’s the best part of being a teacher for me," he said.
Whether his students decide to pursue a career in broadcast journalism, TV or film, he says the goal is to give them the tools they need to succeed.
“When I see students gain that confidence in themselves — their whole life changes. They become open to friends. They become open to possibilities, and they become more open to what the future brings,” Meads said.
