SAN BENITO — In a production studio, lights are set up and students are rolling the camera to capture an interview with Tammy Huerta, music legend Freddy Fender’s daughter.
The production team consisting of three students enrolled in San Benito’s Audio Video Production courses will be competing in a SkillsUSA competition later this month.
As part of the competition, the team needed to put together a four to eight-minute presentation on a subject with a display to coincide with a presentation.
Student Nayeli Ramirez said the team needed to pick something that promoted and represented the community.
The students chose music legend and San Benito native Freddy Fender to create a display and showcase around them.
AV production advisor Isabel De La Cruz said the students chose Freddy Fender to teach younger generations about the legend and his impact on the community.
“We wanted the younger generation to know just who exactly is that face on the water tower,” De La Cruz said.
The hardest part for them was trying to get hold of someone to talk to them about Fender or get hold of memorabilia to use during the showcase.
Students were able to interview Tammy Huerta, Fender’s daughter, about her late father.
“He brings this whole community together, whether through his name or his music,” Ramirez said.
This is Ramirez’s first time competing with SkillsUSA in the community showcase.
Ramirez said being in the organization and preparing for the competition has helped her come out of her shell.
“Before Skills, I was a really shy person,” Ramirez said. “I wouldn’t ask for help or want to do the interviews.”
According to De La Cruz, the students were in charge of everything while she supervised them.
“They set up the lights and cameras and I was just in the background to make sure it ran smoothly,” De La Cruz said.
De La Cruz said the students did everything from contacting her to setting up the interview time and date.
“They did amazing and I feel as though their project is going to be a complete success,” De La Cruz said.
The students will compete Friday, Feb. 23, against others in their district for a chance to go to state that is held annually in Corpus Christi.
It is a career and technical student organization serving middle school, high school and college students.
A number of competitions are held throughout the year where students can showcase the skills they learned in their career and technical classes.
