Each month Kansas Scholastic Press Association holds many different journalism competitions. While they do have top placers monthly it is not as often that one of them is a student from here. Senior and KSMS member, Luella Flanery got second place this month in a multimedia story competition. Though this victory was recent, this is not the first storytelling Flanery has done.

“Basically I’ve been telling stories my entire life,” Flanery said. “Throughout middle school, I started exploring that more, and I got into writing, and then at some point, I decided to take Video 1. I liked the idea of editing stuff, I found just something in the mixture of visual storytelling and like the type of storytelling that I’ve been doing since middle school and I just fell in love with it.”

The video that was submitted for the contest was featured in the Raider Report. It was focused on junior Grace Kangethe and her passion for singing. For this video and others, Flanery has a process to her storytelling.

“If I’m telling someone else’s story then I need to have an idea of what it’s going to be about and then I write the interview questions and I talk to them,” Flanery said. “That way when I write the script because they’ve told me their story, I can find a way to tell other people their story using my own words and theirs.” 

It is clear to Flanery and those around her that she has talent and a strong passion for storytelling. She hopes to continue telling stories in her future through career options such as a director, producer, or through a media, documentary type of show like Sunday Morning or 60 Minutes.

 “I’ve been told that I have a talent for it and I can see that I do because I love doing it,” Flanery said.