Olds Koinonia Christian School student wins provincial competition for safety video

Grade 12 Micah Griffin had a huge surprise recently… when a crew of visitors showed up at his school. As the visitors ran through the gym at Olds Koinonia Christian School, filled with all of the students and dressed in hard hats and safety vests while handing out swag, Griffin started to mentally piece things together.

He had, earlier in the year, entered a competition for high school students to create the best safety video. Although he hadn’t heard anything back, at that point he started to wonder. 

“I thought, oh, let’s go!” he says.  And then he looked around, noticing his family members standing at the back: his parents, an aunt and uncle and his grandparents, as well as a mentor Kai Mrazik. 

“When I saw my grandpa and my whole family and Kai, I thought for sure something was up. They had clearly been scheming behind my back,” laughs Griffin.

The visitors on the stage explained the competition, and then played Griffin’s video for the whole school to watch. After that, they announced Griffin had won first prize for the province, and that meant he would receive $2,500 for himself, $1,000 for his school, and will be entered in the organization’s national competition. 

“Micah’s video is exceptional,” says Jacquie Muzichuk, Manager of Marketing for CAREERS the Next Generation, the organization that oversees SafeGen, for which the student videos were produced. “It was done at an expert level and is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. Micah definitely has talent.” 

Stacey Allan, Director of Communications and Marketing for CAREERS, says SafeGen and CAREERS worked to create this opportunity because they want to empower youth. “We hoped the contest would draw attention to safety.  CAREERS facilitates internships for students on active job sites, and when students go to those sites we want them to be safe. We hope the safety videos elevate the importance of safety,” says Allan.

Allan says video entries from across the province were evaluated by nine independent judges, based on criteria including relevant content, originality, and production value.

“We are so proud of Micah’s achievement,” says Cherie Sanche, Principal of OKCS. “His skills and products are exceptional, and even more, he is personable, respectful, kind, and thoughtful, and overall he is a fantastic young man.”

Sanche says she was pleased that OKCS teacher Renee McCracken encouraged Griffin to enter the video contest. “She told him it would not only be great to win the money, but also it would be great on his resume. We are all so pleased he took the time to participate in this opportunity. It’s been exciting to watch Micah find his passion, and to watch our school community rally around him.”

Griffin’s motivation for entering the competition had to do with his passion for videography, which his parents say began at a young age. 

“We watched him make stop motion videos with his lego at age 10,” recalls Griffin’s father, Matt Griffin. 

Continuing the story, Liz Griffin, Micah Griffin’s mother, says, “And every year his uncle would make a highlight reel at our family reunion. Micah watched his uncle and then was happy to start making the highlights too. The whole family can see he has a passion for photography and videography. It's something that has continued to grow in him.” 

“I feel great pride that my son’s hard work has been recognized,” says Matt Griffin. “I admire his discipline. He has set aside other activities that he could be involved with to get footage and learn editing software and other skills.”

“I really like making videos,” said Micah Griffin. “This is what I live for.” Griffin says he is grateful for his family support, and also for his mentor Kai Mrazik, who has been teaching him about videography. Also, Griffin says, “I need to give a shout out to my friend Rylan who was in the video.”

Griffin has already started a videography business called Wind Walk Entertainment, and hopes to continue to pursue videography in his future.

He plans to first learn a trade, taking the butcher program at Olds College. The next step in his plan is to earn a business degree from Olds College, which he hopes will align with his plans to continue in videography. 

Micah Griffin will be headed to Ottawa in November, after also winning a video contest with the Royal Canadian Legion.

Watch Griffin’s safety video: https://vimeo.com/1067005210/da58d9909a

Watch the CAREERS promotional video of the presentation to Micah Griffin at OKCS: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIhjLf6TIU8/?hl=en

Check out Griffin’s videography website: https://www.windwalkentertainment.ca/