During a community brunch for students, faculty and staff on May 1 to commemorate the inauguration of California State University, Dominguez Hills president Willie J. Hagan, winners from the “America Happens Here: Reflections on Making it Real” contest were recognized for their work.
Student essays, art compositions, poems and videos about how the university was a catalyst to help people’s dreams come true and further the essential American themes of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” were presented during the brunch in Loker Student Union.
While many students were honored for their work, junior music technology major Bronson Buskett took the grand prize for his four-minute video, “The Sky Below,” which according to him is a “musical and visual narrative of CSUDH and its legacy.”
The video was broadcast to a rapt audience, as Buskett took the stage to collect his award.
“I’m humbled by all of the positive feedback,” he said. “Such an emotional response is the greatest thing a composer could ask for. I’m tremendously inspired by this.”
The video was put together entirely by Buskett, including the original musical composition, which he wrote. Using pictures from the university’s Facebook page and website as well as footage he collated from around campus, he created a video that showcases the rich history of CSU Dominguez Hills and highlights the university’s “native element of diversity and community.”
Buskett says that though the video celebrates the university as a whole, the video’s title has a deeply personal meaning to him.
“‘The Sky Below’ is not only symbolic of how far I’ve come with my artistic passions, but also in life,” he said. “To see what I once understood as the sky above now below is the gift I’ve been given through my education and hard work at CSUDH.”
The video featured nostalgic pictures of the construction of the university, multicultural events on campus and pictures of recent graduates during commencement. According to Buskett, “it visually celebrates all that CSUDH has furnished its surrounding communities with for the past 54 years.”
He added that the university is unique in that it places such a premium on service to the community. According to Buskett, CSUDH is a “vehicle for progression and advancement; illustrating the euphony of higher education, community, diversity, and opportunity.”
Watch the entire video below:
