After going on a mission trip to Guatemala and picking up a few extra credit hours in the Ministry Media concentration at Olivet Nazarene University, Ava Tueck knew ministry media was the route for her life.
Why Ministry Media?
Tueck, who is 20 years old, is a multimedia communication major with two concentrations: film studies and ministry media.
Tueck’s love for ministry media lies underneath her interests of humanity.
“Getting to know people’s stories and really just spreading that,” she said.
According to Olivet’s multimedia requirements, Tueck is working on her practicum for the ministry media concentration.
Like all the other practicums, the ministry media practicum requires a big project at the end of the semester, relating to the concentration.
Human interest has always been something that I’ve been passionate about
-ava tueck
“For example, if… you were in an audio production concentration, you would take a practicum of making a podcast,” she said, like Hunter Ah Loo, who produced the podcast “Voice of Generation Now.”
For Tueck, the ministry media practicum project could include creating slideshows for a church, but Tueck wanted a challenge.
“I wanted to do something that involved my video skills as well,” she said.
Georgie’s Closet: The focus of her Ministry Media practicum
Georgie’s Closet is a fully donated boutique dedicated to help foster kids and foster families in Kankakee, Ill.
President and founder of Georgie’s Closet, Rachel Langlois, is a foster mom. She attends Tueck’s church and has been a great help in Tueck’s media and practicum journey.
Tueck’s interest in foster care started when her family opened the doors of their home to two foster boys themselves.
“I really got to see the full effects of what the foster care system is like,” she said.
Having this experience and seeing Langlois’ compassion for the foster care community inspired Tueck to do her practicum focused on Georgie’s Closet.
The Project Itself: Challenges and Accomplishments
Tueck mentions that her original plan for her practicum was to film a documentary on foster kids and families, but some ethical concerns stood in the way. Nevertheless, Tueck persevered.
“I decided to do a full-on social media package for them, which includes an eight-minute video,” she said, “and doing multiple social media reel videos.”
Tueck visited Georgie’s Closet bi-weekly to talk with Langlois about the closet and edits later when she leaves.
“Within the practicum…you put a list of deadlines of like, this is what I’m going to do. This is when I’m going to get it done by,” Tueck said.
In terms of the ministry side of Tueck’s practicum, she said that this project has truly shown the love of Christ.
“There’s this verse where it says…when I asked to be fed, you fed me. When I asked you to give me clothes, you gave me clothes. And I think that’s what Georgie’s Closet is doing,” Tueck said.
According to a media ministries article published by EBSCO, “Media ministries have the potential to reach otherwise unreachable audiences, particularly of the unchurched, and to help the church or religious organization demonstrate its continuing relevance to the current generation.”
Career Impact and Final Thoughts
Despite the difficulty of balancing other school-related assignments and projects, Tueck has enjoyed helping Georgie’s Closet. Tueck’s experience with this practicum has made her realize that she wants to go into corporate or promotional video production.
Tueck wants everyone to know that simple acts of kindness can create great effects in the community around us, with or without a practicum, but surely by using “the skills that God has gifted you.”
