Videographer
Samantha Jacobo

"AmeriCorps brought that opportunity to me in Iowa, to be able to do what I really like to do in my community."

AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) summer associate Samantha "Sam" Jacobo is the Summer 2008 videographer for Central Cedar Rapids/VISTA Corridor Flood Recovery.
Sam is a 19-year-old Coe College student studying art with a film emphasis. Her work experience includes two years as a production assistant for two area television stations.
Her VISTA start date was July 3 and since then she's kept  very busy working in the East Central Iowa Volunteer Reception Center in Cedar Rapids while shooting video and still photos.
Why does she do it?
"I want to be cinematographer in the long run -- I love the camera work.
In June, I met Philippe Rousselot. He was making a film in Low Moor, Iowa. It was my first time on a feature film set," Sam said.
Rousselot is the French cinematographer who won 1992 Academy Award for Best Cinematography for "A River Runs Through It ."  He was in Iowa to film scenes from the not-yet-released thriller "Peacock."
"I've always been intimidated about the film industry because I'm from Cedar Rapids. But they were filming in Low Moor!" Sam said.
At home in Cedar Rapids she has seen the devastation due to flooding and wants to create a record of the flood recovery process, while documenting the experiences of other VISTAs.
"AmeriCorps brought that opportunity to me in Iowa, to be able to do what I really like to do in my community," she said.
Sam is also considering a career as a photojournalist.