Winter 2011 - K-Space Web Page - Central Catholic High School

8 Alumni News | Winter 2011Technology Scholarship to HonorBrian HanleyAfter graduating from Central Catholiclast May, Brian Hanley ’10 postponed hiscollege admission for six months and stayedaround to work with the CCHS technologydepartment. Throughout high school, Brianwas deeply entrenched in all the aspectsof technology and media at CCHS, andhe was generous enough to stay on andhelp train others to take over some of hisresponsibilities.Brian had worked behind the sceneson the fall play, winter one-acts, andspring musicals. He handled sound andlighting for assemblies and DiscoveryDays presentations, and he ran the videoscoreboard in Gallagher Stadium andcreated all the video graphics for the screen.He was the student director for the IrishNews Network (INN), overseeing the liveInternet streaming of daily announcements.Brian also helped stream sporting events,the graduation ceremony, and several otherCCHS events live on the school’s web site.He personally owns a variety of sound andlighting equipment that he rented to CentralCatholic whenever they needed to use it.“If we didn’t have Brian, we would havespent thousands of dollars bringing inprofessionals to do what Brian did,” saysCCHS technology director Chris Hamady.“Sound, lighting, stage design, stageproduction, lighting design, audio designand production, video production, livevideo – he did it all. What we did withDiscovery Days alone would have easily cost$5,000 to $10,000, and he volunteered tocome out and do that.”As a way of payingtribute to Brian and allthat he did for CentralCatholic, the schoolhas created the BrianM. Hanley TechnologyScholarship. It willaward $1,000 peryear to the studentwho best exemplifiesthe characteristicsthat Brian showed inthe areas of technology and production,including curiosity, collaboration, andinnovation.The student that earns this scholarshipwill become the “student director fortechnology” and his or her duties willinclude running the Gallagher Stadiumvideo scoreboard and streaming athleticevents, as well as directing the INN newscastand setting up technology for schoolassemblies and special events.Developing Interest Brian attended St. Joseph elementary schoolin Sylvania. He started getting involved intechnical aspects of theater when he was inearly grade school and began working atthe Toledo Repertory Theater. He had triedseveral sports and activities such as boyscouts, but he really didn’t find his nicheuntil his mother suggested he try the theater.He didn’t want to be on stage, so he workedbackstage helping to move sets around. Buthe quickly learned that he liked the lightingand sound portion of productions betterthan sets or making sure everyone had theirprops. Soon he droppedall his other activities toconcentrate on workingat the theater.Brian developed such aninterest in these aspectsof the theater that hisdad helped him build astage in their basement,and they bought somelighting and soundequipment for Brian toexperiment with. Hecontinued with theaterwork and trying thingsout at home, and duringjunior high he bought more equipment. Eventually he had enoughequipment and knew how to use it wellenough that he began renting it out to localtheater groups, such as Orphan Productions,Theater Kids Inc., and the Toledo Rep., aswell as St. Joe’s Sylvania and several festivals.Brian took the money that he earned fromrenting out his equipment and he reinvestedit, buying more equipment that he couldcontinue to rent out. He never really had toadvertise his services – the customers cameby word of mouth.“A lot of people don’t like the live aspectof it,” Brian says of working with theaterlighting and sound. “They like the designpart, but I like the live part of it. Pullingit off and making it all happen, making itlook good for the final production, it’s achallenge. And the more obstacles in theway, the more fun it is for me.”Working With TechnologyOutside of Central Catholic, Brian alsoworked backstage at concerts and shows inDetroit and Toledo throughout high school.He worked with the non-union PalaceSports Entertainment group in Detroit, andCCHS media tech teacher Mike Heinze ’90got him involved with Local Stagehands, aunion group, and he has worked on nearlyevery show that has come through Toledo.His responsibilities with these shows haveincluded loading equipment in and out,moving sets on and off the stage, workingspotlights, and setting up connections forlighting, audio, and video and running cablefor the connections.Brian says that his experiences at CentralCatholic helped him learn more aboutthe video aspect of technology, especiallywith the addition of the media productionfacility where the INN originates. He highlyrecommends CCHS for everyone interestedin technology.www.centralcatholic.org