By Heather White
When a student, parent or alum visits the University of Louisville Web site, it is one of the first things seen-a face of a student from U of L.
With one click, the user is taken to a video of the featured student, detailing everything from their daily routine, to highlighting events like Welcome Weekend and Homecoming.
This is Cardinal Cam, the recently added student networking feature introduced in October 2007. Previously a sports anchor for WHAS-TV, Brad Knoop, broadcast communications specialist and Cardinal Cam director, created Cardinal Cam after researching the use of videos online.
“The trend is that more people continue to view more video on the web every year,” said Knoop. With the popularity of online videos, Knoop’s plan is to utilize resources such as www.louisville.edu by adding videos and other multimedia. “I knew I wanted student involvement and I thought the best thing to do was to let students tell their stories.”
These stories are what make Cardinal Cam unique, in that no two students are alike, but all bring something to the table to help show all potential incoming students, parents and alumni what being a Cardinal is all about.
After a student has met the requirements to participate with Cardinal Cam, they are given a video camera and sent on their way.
“Basically you’re given a camcorder for a couple of weeks and then you take your idea and film it. They don’t tell you what to do or what to say,” said Michael Oghia, junior sociology major and resident assistant of Threlkeld Hall. “You film whatever aspect of campus life you want and have a ton of fun doing it, then you turn the camcorder back in. It’s that simple.”
Oghia, who felt the Cardinal Cam was a great outlet to show students what campus life is about, contacted Cardinal Cam to illustrate what life is like living on campus. “I was checking it out and thought that maybe I could have something positive to contribute to it. It just seemed really interesting,” said Oghia.
Jeremy Watts, senior communications major, contacted Cardinal Cam as a means of reaching out to students about Greek Life, and to also provide information to disabled students about the services offered on campus.
“I was starting to realize that I needed to speak up and let people know the opportunities and help out there,” said Watts. “I felt after seeing other Cardinal Cams that it was a vital way of connecting to a mass amount of students.”
With a letter of recommendation, and having good academic standing, any student can participate with Cardinal Cam. “The best part of my job when I worked at WHAS-TV was covering people and reporting their stories,” said Knoop. “That’s what’s great with this.”
“Every story is different, every story has an interesting piece to it.”
Whether by watching or participating, anyone can gain a different perspective on college life, or learn something about the campus they may not have previously known.
“From watching, freshman can get a glimpse of what college is all about straight from the student’s mouths,” said Knoop. “It gives parents a way to see what college is about. For the rest of the students, it will help them see what they might be missing or overlooking.”
Interested students can visit Cardinal Cam’s Web site online at www.louisville.edu/cardinalcam to apply or watch videos.
