Dublin High School Senior Delivers “I am Dublin High” Video Gift to the Class of 2020

DUBLIN, CA–Beginning in 2010, OneDublin.org offered a glimpse into the future plans of graduating seniors as a preface to the Senior Awards event. The “I am Dublin High” format was a short form video that asked the graduating seniors to identify their next academic destination. As we curtained the website in 2019, this profile ceased. It gives us great pleasure to share an effort that was undertaken by a graduating senior of the Dublin High School Class of 2020.

Colin Nolan follows and completes a perfect circuit for his family with his contributions. His siblings, Katie and Kieran, were active participants in the 2016 edition of “Every 15 Minutes” at Dublin High. E15M originated in Canada and was ultimately adopted in the United States in 1995 in Chico, California. The goal of the program is to highlight the importance of practicing smart choices when it relates to impaired or distracted driving. Normally, the productions include current students and a wide array of first responders and the presentation is conducted before the entire student body. In the two-day event four years ago, the second day was devoted to a mock funeral in the Sports Complex and then the student body was released early into the weekend. For any that have experienced this production, it is literally a sobering event

With the Shelter in Place order commenced on March 16th, it was a confusing and bewildering time for all students and their families. Without a full comprehension about the virus and what it could mean to the remainder of the school year, Dublin Unified School District monitored and implemented best practices that could employed on a regular basis. The inability of students and staff to be physically present on campus posed immediate challenges. With each update from the CA Governor, the plan to move forward both modified and was implemented – it seemed certain that the school sites would not be reopening within this academic calendar.

With this backdrop, we would like to spotlight a DHS student that seized an opportunity to provide a “gift” to his peers and their families. We came into contact with Colin through his mother, Kim Nolan. Unknown to us, he had been working diligently on a Class of 2020 video that was solely reliant upon his peers to practice social distancing and to employ the technology available at their fingertips. The result is nothing less than a demonstration of creativity, imagination and the will to send his peers off to their next chapter in a very meaningful way. OneDublin.org reached out to Colin and we are honored to share this journey.

OneDublin.org: As disruptive as the community/school environment has been since mid-March, what motivated you to take this on as your Advanced Video Production final?

Colin Nolan: “I chose to make the “I am Dublin High” video because I’ve seen the video made for previous classes and I always looked forward to seeing it. Due to COVID-19 I knew that this special video may not happen. So I decided it would be the perfect opportunity for me to make this video for my final project.”

OneDublin.org: Please describe how this project was marketed and how did you provide instructions to your fellow seniors?

Nolan: “This project was advertised by my Mom and me. What I did to spread the word was that I posted the instructions on different social media platforms. My mom also posted the instructions on the DHS class of 2020 parents Facebook page. I also reached out to my peers so they could be included in this video.”

OneDublin.org: The pandemic year was been particularly challenging for students of all ages. However, your graduating class will be remembered as group that endured it. In general, how well have your peers adapted?

Nolan: “I think at first it was hard to adapt to distance learning, but over time we were able to get the hang of the online learning. Besides the learning part I don’t think people will be able to get over the fact that we got some of the best months of our lives stripped from us with no warning. It is hard to think that I may never see some of my peers and teachers again and that my friends and I won’t be able to walk across the stage together entering this new chapter in our lives.”

OneDublin.org: Finally, what positive memories will you retain from your career at Dublin High School?

Nolan: “There have been so many great memories these past four years and I don’t even know where to start. What is going to stick with me forever is meeting new friends that have become family and knowing they will always be there for me. My sophomore year I went to Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida with the DHS Culinary Academy. Another great memory was going to Gridley my junior and senior years with some of my video production classmates. We were hired to live stream the basketball tournament. We witnessed our basketball team win the whole thing this past December. I have great memories of all of the football and basketball games and losing my voice because I was yelling as loud as I could, with great people by my side the whole time. Seeing my best friends walk across the stage at graduation last year, while I live streamed it with my friend Kyle Elias saying to him, “That will be us a year from now!” And lastly the connections I have made with my peers, my teachers and some of the staff at Dublin High throughout the four years.”

As has been stated repeatedly, our society is living in unprecedented times. The resolution of COVID-19 is uncertain and the impact has reverberated through every element of life – including the daily trek to attend school. We are more than delighted that Colin Nolan elected to take on a project that would provide so much comfort and joy to his peers and their families. He has confirmed his acceptance to Boise State University in the fall and plans to major in Business Administration. #weareinthistogether