Clonakilty student's video wins top award

A CLONAKILTY student has won a prestigious national competition for his video about the internet.

Philip McKenna, a 4th year student at Bandon Grammar,  picked up the ‘What’s Your Story?’ award for a film that showed what the web means to him.  

‘I’ve always been really interested in making movies, and I’ve been following the YouTube scene for a while now,’ said Philip, ‘and seeing how people are using it to create and express themselves, and also experiencing commercial success through online videos.  So I’m delighted to win the Trend Micro award.  It was really important to me to submit a high quality entry, so I actually made three videos to get to the entry that I actually submitted in the end. It took days of work to get it just right.’

The video describes the internet as a vast ocean of opportunities, and Phillip explains how it means a better way of life for us all. He describes the positive ways in which the internet benefits his life, and its limitless the power and information – to quote a line ‘Don’t tell me the Sky’s the limit, when there are foot prints on the moon’.

When it comes to social media, Phillip is aware that some criticise the amount of time spent on social media channels. 

But he views social media in a positive way, because it enables him to reach his friends and organise things through group chats, so they can be more spontaneous and end up doing more things together, creating more memories and fun times.

At the awards presentation, Avril Ronan of Cork-based firm Trend Micro said the entries really depicted how young people see the internet in a very positive light. ‘It’s a place to share memories, leave a mark on the world, offering opportunities for everyone to expand their knowledge and potential while also being a great place to unwind.’  

For more see  https://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.ie.