While most people were still fast asleep Friday morning, MHS administrators, along with members of the marching band, color guard, dance team and cheer squad were busy preparing for some special guests.
Merrillville had the honor of being chosen as the site of a recent Friday Flyover on ABC News. Segments of the show focused on our school’s many talented students, as well as our academic offerings, including CTE and performing arts.
Reporter Tracy Butler visited at 5 a.m., conducting interviews with several students and staff members, as her camera crew captured some of the magic of Pirate homecoming.
Senior Class Vice-President Harmoni Brown was one of the students who was interviewed live for the morning news.
“It was actually really scary,” she said. “I’ve been in a lot of interviews, but that was LIVE TV, so it was totally different because I didn’t want to freeze up. Thankfully, it was really short and straight to the point, so it really wasn’t that bad, and I’m grateful to have the experience, and to be recognized and interviewed.”
Students had to be at school by 4:45 in the morning to be ready for the filming
“I woke up at 3:30 in the morning, because I take quite a bit to get ready. We kind of just made sure we put up a lot of posters,” Brown said. “Mr. Schoon and Rosa [Blevins] were a huge help. We did all of that, and prepared quite a bit. We found out a couple weeks ago, but we just didn’t tell anyone about it. We just kind of worked up to it, and it turned out really well.”
Another segment focused on the drumline, and Senior Member Joel Joseph, who was interviewed.
“It was very exciting. I was slightly nervous that I was gonna slip up and say something bad, but obviously I had to catch myself to not give them a bad impression.”
Performing live on TV also caused some nerves.
“We just had to practice and play with confidence,” Joseph said, “People were scared that they’re gonna mess up, but I was like, ‘Even if you mess up, just push through. It’s perfectly fine. Things happen, and most of the people don’t know what you’re playing, so as long as you don’t show any emotion that you’re messing up, then it will be fine. So we ran a few practices before they started, and we did pretty well overall, so I’m really proud of these guys.”
Another segment focused on the Choralteens, lead by Director Melinda Reinhart.
“Getting the kids prepared was a piece of cake because I’ve got wonderful kids and they performed a lot of the pieces we had done for our concert and we have been preparing for six weeks.”
However, she admits the interview was stressful.
“There was a lot of stuff going on,” she said. “There were a lot of faces in your face and everything is timed back and forth with Chicago and what’s going on in our room; plus it was really warm in here.
“I didn’t know what I was going to say until we were in the middle of her asking the question, our music ran out and it didn’t line up the way it was supposed to.”
Senior Class President Rosa Blevins was excited about the chance to showcase what our school is all about.
“It’s special because not a lot of schools in northwest indiana, or around the region in general have been chosen, so it was exciting,” she said. “Also we were able to get our name out there, people drive around and see our building on the highway, now they can see what’s actually going on in our building.”
Senior Principal Dan School said the event took a lot of planning.
“Athletic Director Amy Beckham and I chose the groups that were highlighted due to their dedication to MHS,” he said. “We strategically took time to choose students/groups who have made significant achievements, either academically, athletically, or artistically. Their accomplishments serve as inspiring stories for others. We then had to plan out who would be speaking on camera.
“The student/staff chosen were natural leaders that would be comfortable speaking in front of the camera and with Tracy Butler. Their enthusiasm and passion for what they do at MHS came across more authentically because they are genuinely interested and excited about being a Pirate.”
Mr. Schoon and Ms. Beckham coordinated all of the logistics ahead of time.
“Ms. Beckham took care of all the phone meetings/conversations (and there were many), and answered all the email questions from ABC,” Mr. Schoon said. “We then had a three-hour meeting with ABC where we toured the building and talked about all the great things happening at Merrillville HIgh School. I really believe this was a very successful activity for MHS and it is due to the dedication of everyone involved and all of the time we took to plan for it.”
