A look at TU's top videos from 2021

By Ron Santana, Henry Basta and Kyle Hobstetter on January 9, 2022

There is a lot going on at Towson University. Numerous events, championship athletics, ground breaking research and so much more that makes this university the exciting place that it is to be. 

TU is able to showcase its amazing campus community through the tireless work of Digital Media Services in the Division of University Marketing & Communications. This team produces high quality video projects that showcase a transformative student experience that creates a foundation for social and economic mobility grounded in a profound respect for civic responsibility. 

WATCH MORE: Check out Towson University YouTube and Vimeo pages 

Here are some of the team's favorite projects from the past year, and why they stood out.

Rising

"We produce a number of videos throughout the year. But, unknown to many, one in particular showcased a cross-department collaboration that was years in the making.

Back in 2018, President Schatzel inquired if we had an orchestral version of the alma mater. We did not, so we had a conversation with Philip Collister, chair of the music department, about creating one.

As soon as we started working on the RISE campaign we immediately rediscovered this idea and rekindled the discussion. With Philip’s guidance, we were connected with Christopher Cicconi, director of bands and orchestras and associate professor of music education, who arranged the composition. With final preparations by Heather Sorenson, director of events & operations at the Center for the Arts, the piece was performed by TU Symphony Orchestra and recorded in the Harold G. Kaplan Concert Hall."

— Ron Santana, Director of Digital Media Services

Towson University Homecoming 2021 

"Throughout 2021, our team has worked together to tell some incredibly inspiring stories. It continues to be an absolute honor to be a part of this collaboration. It was a welcomed reflection to narrow down just one of my favorite video projects from this year.

The video that I chose was a highlight video of Homecoming, 2021. We focus on telling individual stories quite often, but this video felt like a beautiful snapshot of life on campus in October.

The week of events and activities building up to the football game captures the celebration of coming back together. From a videographer perspective, the week was fun to capture on camera. During editing, the energy was palpable. For me, Homecoming 2021 reaffirmed the resilience of Towson Tigers, come rain or shine."

— Henry Basta, Digital Media Specialist 

Shodekeh — TU's Innovator in Residence 

"This past year, I had the honor of sharing the story of Shodekeh Talifero, a Baltimore hip-hop artist and the Innovator-in-residence of the College of Fine Arts and Communication.

Throughout the year, we watched as Shodekeh continued to thrive. He partnered with Albert S. Cook Library to become the first hip-hop artist in Maryland to have their work archived and the first beatboxer to have a special collection dedicated to their work. Then this past December, he became the first beatboxer to premiere a composition at the legendary Carnegie Hall.

And one of the biggest things for me is that he became a friend, and I am excited to see the amazing things that come next for him. So, when I had a chance to team up with Roy Henry, our former Digital Media Specialist, to let Shodekeh tell his story in his own words, I jumped at the chance to put him on camera.

To say that Roy knocked this project out of the park would be an understatement. This video not only showcases the wonderful person and performer that Shodekeh is, but it also showcases the incredible work that Roy, and the rest of our digital media team, has provided for our university. I couldn’t thank both of them enough for the how this project turned out."

— Kyle Hobstetter, Communications Strategist