Behind the Scenes at Strake Jesuit Educational Television

Though a relative few stop to think about it as such, Strake Jesuit Educational Television (SJET) has been a constant, unwavering presence in the lives of each and every Strake student since 1970. Beginning at 8 a.m. sharp every morning, the roughly 10-minute show outlines the day’s club meetings, birthdays and sporting events, and provides a platform for its members to air footage of their choice to the entire community.

However, despite the show’s enduring presence, the vast majority of the student body has little knowledge regarding what actually goes on behind the scenes or what it truly takes to produce and broadcast a show every single day. Beyond the actual members of the club, the remainder of the community has no real way of knowing how the machine that is SJET continues to fire on all cylinders, day after day.

Easily the most surprising aspect of the daily show is the sheer amount of manpower necessary. Though the audience sees only the two anchors and a reader, the morning staff includes three cameramen, an audio director, a floor manager and more. As an anchor myself, I suppose that I am a figurehead of SJET - one of the few outwardly recognizable members of the club - but despite this added exposure, I am well aware of the fact that I would be completely helpless without those working behind the scenes.

It’s truly a cumulative effort, and that’s what makes SJET such a special place; whether you’re a freshman on Camera 3 or a senior directing the entire show, you’re invaluable to the broadcast’s success. No job is more important than another, and just as each member of the crew is integral to collective success, one person not doing their job causes the entire show to suffer. This perpetual link between all positions can be understandably frustrating at times, but the feeling we all get from a flawless show is more than enough to keep everyone coming back.

All in all, a single show requires two anchors, a prayer reader, a distribution supervisor, a floor manager, a teleprompter worker, an audio controller and two directors - in other words, a minimum of 9 students. And this doesn’t even take into account those that write and edit the script or shoot and edit intros and segments; any one show could easily bear the fingerprints of a couple dozen people.

Beyond a daily morning show, however, SJET is a club, and a tightly-knit one at that. Over a dozen students show up every morning at 7 a.m. to prepare for the show, and another dozen eat lunch in the studio on a daily basis, chatting and editing footage. As someone who has spent my lunch period in the same place with the same people since sophomore year, I can firmly attest to the fact that SJET has given me both a means to make friends and a place on campus to truly call home.

I’ve experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows with the ever-expanding SJET community, and the friendships and skills I have gained will continue to resonate with me for years after graduation. I always like to joke that SJET has taught me more than any high school class, but in reality, the social, technological and leadership skills that I’ve learned over the past three years have molded me as a person more than just about any other aspect of my life. Though the club itself often passes under much of the student body’s collective radar, Strake Jesuit Educational Television has provided me and countless others with a truly unique experience and sense of community that will remain with us for a lifetime.