Aliza Schwarz, a senior from Richmond, is double majoring in sports media and analytics in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences' School of Communication and psychology in the College of Science. She is a full time HokieVision student responsible for filming video for football coaches, providing highlights for ACC and ESPN shows, and editing content for in-venue events and social media.

During the fall, Schwarz attended every football game and practice, filming content for different uses. This spring, Schwarz is the lacrosse primary creative video creator. She will oversee assigning videographers, editing the content, and meeting with other departments to help create a smooth process of filming, editing, producing, and distributing content.

“HokieVision is a great program and great experience. It’s basically a full-time job, but everyone is always understanding, and they are there to help. It is a demanding job, but it has opened so many doors. The staff always offer their connections and give us the best opportunities possible,” said Schwarz.

HokieVision allows students to get involved in the different aspects of content creation so each student can explore what aspect is most appealing to them. Because of the work demand, students are also offered scholarship money.

“One of the reasons I love HokieVision is because we are one of the few schools in the nation who combine coaches’ video, broadcast, in venue, and creative video all into one program. Most schools have different programs for each and often go unpaid, so I am really lucky,” said Schwarz.

When Schwarz first came into Virginia Tech, she started as a psychology major with a desire to focus on sports psychology. Through her media writing class with Advanced Instructor Dale Jenkins in 2022, she learned about the position at HokieVision.

“Joining HokieVision completely changed what I wanted to do in life. I was still very focused on sports psychology, and I thought being around the team would help me regardless of whether it was psychology or not. So I joined full time,” said Schwarz.  

HokieVision has played a large part in Schwarz’s success at Virginia Tech, helping her find an exciting career path.

“The longer that I have worked with HokieVision the more I have realized I wanted to go the creative route, more of the storytelling cinematic aspect. My favorite part about being a part of HokieVision is being a creative video student, seeing people’s reaction in venue to content I am making. For the last two years, I was responsible for the ‘Shout’ video played going into the fourth quarter. It is really fun to see that many people interact with my work. I feel like I am helping bring people together to enjoy a common experience,” said Schwarz.

This semester, Schwarz has an opportunity to work with Red Velocity in Roanoke, a freelance video company that works on commercials and documentary style storytelling. She had a chance to shadow them last year during one of their interviews with a Holocaust survivor.

“It was incredible to watch professionals go through the process. As well as the passion for storytelling that lies outside of the world of sports,” said Schwarz.  

Schwarz hopes to continue to work for Red Velocity after graduation.

Written by Caroline Reed, a senior and a student writer Virginia Tech Communications and Marketing

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