Click! Charlie Folk (’25) presses the on button of her mirrorless camera. The camera returns to life and the red light lights up again. In a few minutes, she will be recording her AP Biology summer trip to the tide pools. Through the viewfinder, she takes in the sight of little creatures in the pools and then carefully pans the camera to video the rest of the class. 

The idea of recording her field trip started out as an unfamiliar experience for Charlie and soon turned into a noteworthy opportunity with editing and practice as a videographer. The tide pool trip evolved into another unforgettable moment for her. 

“It was the first vlog that I’ve done and I’m super proud of that,” Charlie said. “Vlogging is a little side thing that I like doing. I have an awful memory, so it’s a way for me to remember things without having to consciously remember it because I can see, ‘Oh yeah, that happened.’”

After taking footage of the tide pools, Charlie needed to edit the video clips together into a vlog. Despite being unaccustomed to the editing software, she eventually familiarized herself with the tools by experimenting with it herself, figuring it out one step at a time. She deeply values the entire process from when she was getting started and to when she finally completed the video.

“The tide pools vlog was the one that took the most time because it was my first time ever using Adobe Premiere Pro,” Charlie said. “I had to figure out how to use it, and I’m very anti-tutorial, so I just had to dive in. It was a very crazy process, and it took a literal year to get it done, but the video was something that I was the most proud of.”

Along with filming vlogs and little video clips of her life, Charlie watches horror movies and derives inspiration from these movies. She reflects on how an experience in middle school transformed her perspective on films and transformed watching movies into a hobby and conversation starter.

“For some English assignment in middle school, we watched Coraline, which is my favorite movie,” Charlie said “But instead of watching it all in one setting, I watched it in split up chunks in my head. I really liked that and that sort of started me on this kick of watching movies that I have now.”

Through her interest in movies and video making, Charlie learned to persevere through the long editing process and see how her hard work pays off. History teacher Bronwen Callahan, who taught Charlie in Honors World History 2, recalls her dedication and determination to a project for the class.

“I know that Charlie really wanted to write the tenth grade research paper on Cold War horror movies from the United States, and I convinced Charlie to wait until American History to do so,” Callahan said. “Charlie actually sent me the paper that she had ended up writing, and it was exactly what she had said two years later.”

Beyond her academic classes, Charlie also values her relationships with friends, a quality that doesn’t go unnoticed. Abby Samuel (’25), a close friend of Charlie’s since fifth grade, appreciates Charlie’s ability to check in on people and her considerate nature.

“She’s always really considerate about how people are feeling,” Abby said. “She says very explicitly that she always can tell if you’re feeling off, and she’s way more open about calling that out and being like, ‘Hey, are you okay?’ She’s always the one to bridge that gap instead of ignoring someone or being like ‘Oh they’re probably tired but I’m just gonna ignore it.’”

While some are afraid to speak up, Charlie’s confidence shines out when the time comes for it. Close friend Connor Su (’25) commends her caring personality and ability to stand up to people.

“Her biggest strength is definitely confidence and being able to be very confrontational about things,” Connor said. “She’s not afraid to say what she truly thinks at any moment, regardless of who you are.”

In all her vlogs and photography, Charlie always keeps in mind what she will find interesting and memorable to look back upon. These moments help bring memories together and allow her to reflect on her experiences so far.

“I take time to soak in the moment,” Charlie said. “There’s always details that you didn’t notice before, and it’s those details that make my photos or my videos interesting iif I decide to record it. That’s what makes my life interesting as well.”