top of page
Oswin Colley (1).jpg

Oswin Colley

Alabama Journalist of the Year

Striving to shine light on all parts of the community through journalism and film.​

Broadcast Packages

Revealing a Hero

Learn how a Thompson JROTC Cadet was honored with the silver valor award--the second highest honor a cadet can receive. Written, shot, edited and produced by me.

Producing it solo taught me valuable skills in storytelling, time management, and adaptability, as I had to handle every aspect of the production process—from researching and interviewing to filming and post-production. This experience reinforced my ability to work independently under deadlines while ensuring accuracy and engaging content.

Helping the Community

Hear from the Thompson High School Art Honor Society as they prepare for their annual Empty Bowls event. Written, shot, edited and produced by me.

​

(First place ASPA Broadcast Feature Story 2024)

News Anchoring

Take a look at a few stories I have written--as well as anchored--for our live broadcasts we produce every Friday. This reel consists of mostly news stories, as well as our special coverage of the 2024 Presidential Election where we conducted live interviews and polling updates.

​

First Place ASPA Broadcast News Anchor (2025)

Photojournalism

Sometimes, pictures tell a larger story than words ever could. Being a professional photographer for 5 years, I believe that getting the perfect shot can make a great story even greater.

Editing

Exploring Thompson

Every year, Thompson High School has CTE month--a month that presents all of our Career Technical Education academies. THSTV produces a video for every academy that gets shown to all upcoming freshmen during course selection to give better insight into what each academy does. I was tasked with creating the introduction for every CTE video.

Welcome to THSTV

After receiving my certification in Adobe Premiere Pro, I was extremely excited to use these new skills to produce the THSTV show open. This open plays at the beginning of every broadcast.

Graphic Design & Social Media

Graphic Design

For school, my job as a social media content creator and website writer/manager for Impatient Creations Inc., and myself, I produce media and other graphic designs to be used on social media and other marketing sites. Many of these have won awards, including First Place SkillsUSA Advertising Design. I believe simplicity is the key to an eye-catching design that will catch viewers attention and give them all of the information they need.

Social Media

Social media isn't just about the media--it's also how you tell a story. I have written many captions and other posts for both THSTV as well as for the past year at Impatient Creations Inc.--a local Alabaster auto restoration shop.

Keep It Engaging

As the only social media employee for a company, I've had to learn how to handle the marketing, design, and most importantly the analytics and data of our online content. Although our audience is primarily adult males between the ages of 30 and 60, which can be hard for a teenager to keep engaged, I've helped boost our companies engagement with interactive and topical polls like a March Madness themed bracket, as well as other engaging stories.

Website Management

As the social media specialist for Impatient Creations Inc., I am responsible for the entire management of their website. This includes writing articles about awards, posting important updates about hours of operations and business information, and communicating with potential clients. In the modern age, web and social media design are the first step to reaching a new customer, so it is important to have an active and accurate website to reflect the business. I regularly update progress photos of restored vehicles and engage with customers by emailing them these. professional photographs. I believe it is important to build a strong relationship with your audience and customers to ensure complete satisfaction and a growing company.

Connect with the Community

Don't Stay Silent

I wrote, directed, composed, and edited this PSA for the National Greatest Save Teen PSA Program--and I won nationally. The PSA tackles teen suicide, an often stigmatized topic that lacks awareness, especially in southern high schools. I believe that it is incredibly important to have a strong and supportive mental health support system in all schools, and bringing awareness to suicide helps advocate for this idea. We promoted this PSA across our entire school system, and it still gets played during our weekly shows on THSTV. 

Not only did we play it for our entire school, we went on the news for it. My actress Issy Stowe and myself were incredibly lucky to talk live on WBRC about the PSA as well as the importance of mental health and suicide awareness in schools. 

​

You Decide

This year, THSTV produced our first election show You Decide. Being such a large school, we had hundreds of students that would be voting in their first election, and I believe it is incredibly important to have factual, ethical, and unbiased news that is easily accessible for the community. This broadcast was an amazing opportunity to practice live interviewing as well as making sure the stories I wrote and questions I asked were completely factual and unbiased.

Design for the Community

I was lucky enough to have my graphic design chosen to be the new Alabaster City Schools SRO vehicle wraps. My design was picked for the side of the trucks, while two other students' designs were on the hood and back of the vehicles. I was able to see the designs reveal right after I came out of jaw surgery. It is truly an honor to have a piece of my artwork as a part of ACS for years to come.

Influencing the Next Generation

Every year, THSTV welcomes students from the Creek View Elementary School GRC program for a two-day shadowing experience. While they already learn reporting through their morning announcements, this opportunity gave them hands-on exposure to scholastic journalism at a higher level. They observed our production process, learned new storytelling techniques, and gained a deeper understanding of broadcast journalism in action. Additionally, they were introduced to the fundamentals of journalism ethics and media law. This tradition is my favorite because I love helping them understand the responsibility of accurate and fair reporting. 

My Final Project

When I was a sophomore, I knew that by the time I graduated I wanted to create one big final project, and that became Thompson: The Progression. The slideshow here was also presented to school administrators as well as the Alabaster City Schools Board of Education, all of which approved and offered to help. Though still in production, 15 different interviews with prominent figures at Thompson High School have been scheduled, and all footage has been shot and directed by myself. The documentary is set to be finished in May and will be posted to THSTV's youtube and shown to the school.

Additional Scholastic Experience

Warrior Nation Network

Being a part of THSTV gave me the incredible opportunity to be a part of Warrior Nation Network's pregame show. I was able to work alongside local celebrities such as the late Jerry Young to produce their show while running audio tests and commercials as the show ran live before all home football games.

Behind the Scenes

When I was asked to be a technician in the Performing Arts Center, I had no idea I would become the assistant technical director. This job has stuck with me since I was a sophomore, and has lended me experiences not many are able to have. Between helping behind the scenes for Miss Alabama's Teen and other state and national pageants, learning the intricacies of sound and lighting design, running a jumbotron, and being able to call myself the director of a production, I quickly fell in love with my role and will continue to value the skills I've learned in tech and leadership.

On the Field

When Thompson High School's football team made it to the finals for the AHSAA 7A Football Championship, THSTV needed someone on the scenes. As lead photographer and on-site reporter on staff, I was chosen to be on the field alongside my adviser and shot video and photo, as well as took notes, in order to make sure THSTV got the perfect story.

Leadership

CTE Leadership

THSTV is directly involved in the SkillsUSA program--an organization dedicated to teaching students real leadership skills and preparing them for the workforce. As a senior member, I was elected as the SkillsUSA reporter, and have dedicated myself to being both a representative for the TV Career Technical Education Academy and for Thompson High School as a whole. 

NAHS Media Representative 

I was chosen to be the Southeastern representative for the National Art Honor Society Open Studios Conversation with 9B Collective. This was a live broadcast where myself and other students interviewed the 9B Collective (a group of incredible artists from major studios such as Disney and Dreamworks). This broadcast was held for the entire NAHS, and was an incredible opportunity to practice live interviewing. It also gave me the chance to represent the Southeast's beautiful art programs and bring light to more art education in southern schools.

Leadership Shelby County

Two of my fellow staff members, Naomi Thomas and Akaree Barbour, along with myself were chosen to represent Thompson High School's TV & Film Academy for the Leadership Shelby County Conference. It was incredible to be able to represent my staff as their senior lead as well as our SkillsUSA reporter with broadcasts and news stories I wrote and produced. Leaders of the community with their own journalism experience were kind enough to give me feedback and words of encouragement as I strive to continue to be a leader in the journalism field.

Leading My Staff

Every year, senior THSTV staff members produce the Senior Video--a 20-30 minute showcase of all the events of the graduating class, as well as spotlighting important members of faculty that helped guide students through high school, that's played during the Senior Breakfast. As the THSTV Senior lead, it is my job to send out emails to the school for submissions to the senior video, answer any questions from parents and students, check the senior editors' sections, and edit the final video. This year, THSTV has no adviser for the last two months of school, so the video is 100% student led. It is my job to make sure my staff communicates with the school and upholds the strict deadlines we've set as a class.

Representing Ethical Journalism

The Alex House Journalism Sustainability Award is an award given to a school, publication, or individual that strives to preserve journalism and students' rights to free press in schools. As senior lead of THSTV, I advocated for Thompson High School's nomination of this award. I submitted an essay, along with a letter from our Chief Academic Officer, that proudly discussed the funds and awareness Thompson High School has given to our student media, the opportunities it has given students, as well as important topics THSTV has been able to bring awareness to through broadcasts. At the Alabama Scholastic Press Association convention, I proudly accepted this award on behalf of THS.

Staying Committed

To Diversity

     Of Representation: A huge factor of journalism is making sure every group, side, and opinion is represented to the public. Being a part of a broadcasting program at an incredibly diverse high school means that it is my job to represent every group Thompson has within its walls. When it comes with story planning and finding stories to broadcast, I always try to find one that allows me to shine light on an individual or group that has very little representation, and then I use the platform I've been given to uplift their voices. I am committed to making sure everyone is represented in media, both in high school and in my future, no matter their race, gender, sexuality, and political or cultural identity. Everyone deserves to have their story told.
     Of Perspective: One of the first rules I was taught through THSTV was to always check your biases. Whether it was politics, sports, or a story on an individual, it was important to make sure you told the facts and showed every side of the story, even if you did not agree with it. The best way to tell a story is to tell every side and let your viewers form their own opinions. By presenting different perspectives, you gain respect from others in the industry as well as credibility in your work, which gives you a trusted and valuable connection with your audience
     Of Coverage: Thompson High School has always been a huge sports and business school. You will often see talks about our football championships and business clubs winning national awards. What you don't see being talked about, though, are the students receiving medical certifications that could save lives, the softball team working with students with special needs, the JROTC student that saved a life, and the computer science students winning state awards for their coding. While it is important to cover the stories the people want to hear, it is also important to talk about the events and people that are often overlooked, or simply not widely discussed. I am committed to telling a variety of stories and getting full coverage for everything happening in my community, not just what my audience wants to hear, but also what they should know.

To Inclusivity

     A lot of people see journalism and the news as a pretentious industry. While often bound to traditional rules and ideas of how to tell a story, journalists can often struggle to recognize their non-inclusive actions. For example, almost everyone on my broadcasting team was shocked when I suggested implementing captions into our broadcasts or media productions. As someone with a hearing disorder, I often need captions to consume any form of news media, and I know plenty of other people who have the same needs. I strive to remain inclusive of others needs in my journalism, and hopefully push new ideas about accessibility into the industry.

To Preserve Journalism

     If you had told freshman year me I would be pursuing journalism, putting myself out there to the world to tell stories and use my voice to help others, I would not have believed you. My time in student media has shown me the importance of advocating for oneself and others, and for making sure the facts and information that are needed for the community are being represented. In a world like today where information spreads faster than you can read or hear, it is important to make sure true ethical journalism stays alive so that the people can stay connected with the facts and form their opinions to ensure changes in the community. Now, more than ever, it is necessary for journalists to advocate for others and use their voices to promote those changes. I am committed to using my voice, advocating for ethical news, and keeping journalism alive for the next generations. 

To Preserve Film & Media

     When I was in middle school, I had no questions about going into the media industry. Now, as a senior in high school, constantly surrounded by students using AI artworks and writings and trends online creating AI videos, I start to question if my industry will still exist after I graduate, and if my work will be needed or even wanted. 
I believe humans, from birth, have the innate desire to create. I watch the girls I babysit mimic the TV shows they watch, creating their own plot lines and characters. I watch the freshman in my academy fall in love with cameras as they experience them for the first time. I have seen people, in the face of hardships and devastation, continue to create art and photographs and short films as if it is second nature to them. That is the reason I strive to create: to preserve the film & media industries and continue to put life into my creations that AI could not replicate.

To My Peers & Advisers

     THSTV consistently strives for dedication and quality work from all team members. Broadcasting is not an individual job, it is a collaborative effort from an entire team, talent and tech, to create something informative and enlightening for the community. Therefore, I am always pushing myself to put in effort to the fullest extent, whether it is learning new skills in the control booth or picking up the story that requires a quick turnaround. Not only do I aim to be a consistent and dedicated team member, but I also make an effort to teach the newer and younger staff members, teaching them industry standards and advocating for their ideas and skills to be used in our broadcasts and hopefully showing them the beauty of journalism.
     Outside of my peers, I look up to my advisers the most. From my TV & Film academy director Mrs. Chambers to my technical director at the Performing Arts Center Mr. Giddens, my advisers have advocated for my place in the workforce and always support my ideas. For all of my current advisers, I strive to stay committed to the lessons and skills they have taught me, and continue to use those thoughts for years to come. For all of my future advisers, I hope to be a student they are excited to teach and work with, and I will commit myself to making them proud.

To My Community

     My hometown, Alabaster, is a large and diverse community. My graduating class is over 500 people, each with their own futures, ideas, imaginations, and desires. I want to make sure everyone gets their story told. Whether it was my package on Ethan Crook, a student nationally honored for his life-saving actions that barely anyone knew about, a story about a community service project that no one was helping out with, or a group with no recognition, I strive to give all parts of my community a voice.
     Not only that, but I also aim to give the community a real and trustworthy news outlet. In an age of AI, fake news, and tabloid stories, I strive to give the community ethical journalism that stays unbiased and consistently reports reliable information.

To Myself

     I often get told I work too hard and too much. Between working three jobs, maintaining a 4.7 GPA, and building both an art and media portfolio for college, most would agree. My entire life I have aimed for better, always trying to reach a new goal every single day, and I believe that that is reflected in my personal and professional life. I am committed to always doing better, making every project more refined and impactful than the other, and I strive to continuously put all of my effort into everything I do. I am committed to always doing more, learning more, and becoming a well-rounded individual. However, I know that it is important to maintain a healthy work-life balance. While staying committed to my work, I also will stay committed to being my true self, taking breaks when I need to, and never changing who I am for other people. The best person you can be is yourself, and I have never been more proud of the person I have become. 

bottom of page