On Sept. 14, junior Jillian Lewis spent the day at the Kansas State Fair, talking to a group known as “the soil guys” who helped kids learn why topsoil is important. She and her partner senior Dakota Lebofsky were competing with the broadcast team at the Kansas State Fair competition. Here, each school put together a four-minute show based on assigned prompts. For Jillian, broadcast takes up more than two class periods a day — it takes up a lot of her life.

Jillian learned how to work with film equipment early on at home, because both of her older brothers were involved with broadcast during high school.

“I’ve always been into editing,” Jillian said. “I’ve always been into the creative side of picturing something in my head and [saying] ‘that’s what I want it to look like.’”

Her brother Parker Lewis, 19, is currently a film major at the Kansas City Art Institute. He inspired Jillian to begin broadcast, where she fell in love with the class and the people.

“I thought I wanted to do photography in middle school, but I like how film is actual action and movement,” Jillian said. “There’s a lot more action involved in filming and movies.”

Jillian says she’s constantly thinking about what would be a good story.

“It’s always in the back of your mind — it’s kind of a part of me,” she said. “I love when you first have something in your mind and you have to actually put it on screen and edit it how you want — kind of impress yourself.”

An expert at Final Cut Pro, Jillian is now the editing producer of WolfByte TV. She has to have her stories finished early, because she goes through every other story on the show to make sure the technical side is in check.

“I don’t think anyone really knows how much work we actually put into it,” Jillian said. “I think people think ‘oh, they just throw a story together in a couple of days,’ but there’s a ton of time and work that goes into it. Sometimes we have to take the laptop home and work for four hours.”

Jillian says that her view of the school has changed now that she is a broadcast member.

“I’ve noticed that everyone kind of has a story — you never really realize what people have gone through,” she said. “I like that you get to create relationships with people that you normally wouldn’t if you weren’t interviewing them.”

After high school, Jillian wants to study at a school with a strong journalism program, such as Mizzou or Arkansas. In the future, she hopes to continue filming through the sports side of broadcast, such as at ESPN. But for now, she loves being a part of the WolfBtye team.

“I love the thrill of making a good story,” she said. “I want to leave a mark on our school.”

More on Jillian Lewis

• Favorite broadcast story: “Me and Cassie did a story on the Newtown shooting. I just loved it because it brought back our school and how the teachers care about us.”
• If you could travel anywhere in the world: “Probably to Australia, because it’s kind of forgotten sometimes and I think it’s really pretty. I would love to visit the coral reef.”
• Something most people don’t know: “I have a twin brother who goes to Blue Valley. I was supposed to go to Blue Valley, but all of my friends came here.”