At Hempfield High School (HHS), students who enroll in the communications and technology, or "comm tech," courses sharpen their skills in video production, camera operation, script and storyboard creation, lighting, audio production, and video editing. Eleventh-grader Maguire Younes is one of these students.

Last year, one of the many projects Maguire completed for comm tech was a news story on Fastnacht Day. As an annual Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, Fastnacht Day is a celebration that falls on Shrove Tuesday, which is the day before Ash Wednesday. The German word "fastnacht" translates to "fasting night" or "almost night" in English. The tradition is to eat the very best foods before the Lenten fast. Maguire's news story spotlights Weiser's Market in Lititz, and he said it was his favorite project that fall semester. After his comm tech teacher, Mr. Matthew Binder, notified the students about a digital storytelling competition, Maguire decided to submit his Fastnacht Day project to the Golden Lion Awards.

The Golden Lion Awards is produced and directed by the Academy of Cinematic Arts, which is a Christian arts education nonprofit committed to helping students discover their stories through digital storytelling as well as providing youths with educational programming, competition, award recognition, social experiences, and a sense of community. The film festival is open to high school and middle school students who live in states within a 500-mile radius of Columbus, Ohio.

Maguire applied to the Golden Lion Awards in the spring and found out from a friend that the Fastnacht Day project was selected to advance in the competition. While watching the livestream results, Maguire discovered he had won the Golden Lion Award in the News Story category.

"He's always been interested in technology and computers," stated Maguire's mother, Melissa Younes. "I mean, that's his love."

In the history of the comm tech department at HHS, Maguire was the first student to win a first place Golden Lion Award.

"I definitely see myself going into the communication realm after high school," said Maguire. "I probably will submit another comm tech project in the spring."

To watch Maguire's news story on Fasnacht Day, visit https://vimeo.com/566278105.