Cascadia Community College recently graduated the largest number of students in its history. So, what’s on the minds of today’s college students? Corruption, traffic and zombies. Well, kind of.

The end of spring quarter also marked the wrap up of a weeklong writing, acting and video production workshop in which students explored a range of surprisingly meaty topics.

One short film focuses on asserting personal ethics in a corrupt workplace. Another film uses traffic as a metaphor for a struggling relationship. A third tackles the issue of how the consumer-generated content on the Web contributes to distorted ideas, as it follows two brothers who are making plans to flee a zombie invasion.

Danielle Powell, a tenured faculty member at Cascadia who helped facilitate the workshop, calls the student productions witty and thoughtful. “When our students are given the opportunity and guidance to give voice to their imaginations, the possibilities are unlimited,” says Powell.

In addition to learning the basics of scriptwriting and filmmaking, the seminar was designed to challenge students to collaborate to solve problems and make decisions as a team. This is an essential component of curriculum at Cascadia, which focuses on active learning and small group work as preparation for the work environment.

“We collaborated as writers, actors, directors, crews and editors to create one vision,” reflects Cascadia student Dylan Hansen. “It was unbelievable to me that we were able to produce these films in such a short amount of time.”

Student Sean Capps agrees the seminar was rigorous, especially when coupled with the workload from other courses, but feels it was worth the late nights. “I really enjoyed the entire process from meeting the people, to developing the scripts, to filming and to the campus premiere. It allowed us to think critically and creatively, skills that can be used in daily life outside of college.”

The students created a total of eight original short videos around the theme of sustainability. “The films look at how we balance what we do in the environment, in politics, in relationships and what we do to sustain these,” explains guest instructor and film industry veteran Teresa Dowell-Vest, who ran the workshop.

Says student Rick Shuttuck, “It was such a phenomenal experience, getting to work with so much talent that we’ve decided to continue on and plan to create a Cascadia filmmaking club.”