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Name: Kaelynn Behrens, Editor in Chief

Age: 18

Years in BluePrint: 4

What do you enjoy about BP?

What don’t I enjoy about BluePrint is a better question. I love Mr. Naylor’s sly remarks every morning. I love having Mya be my co-editor. I love the connections you make with new people everyday. I love how this class challenges you to think outside the box and confront your fears. Public speaking and doing interviews were not my forte 4 years ago. If I hadn’t have joined BluePrint, I would’ve never came out of my shell here at Bellwood. As I started winning awards and getting recognized for my work, I realized that this was where I was supposed to spend my high school free time. The feeling you get after a story you’ve been working on for weeks has finally been published is what makes this all worth while. The things that you research and convey to the public are things that have the potential to impact so many different lives. That is what I love about this club. You all have one common goal and that is to succeed and provide the readers with the most accurate story as possible.

What’s your favorite things you’ve done in BP so far?

Oh boy. Well first, I’d have to say my video documentary called “Brandon Bickle’s Big Shot” is at the top of my list. This was the first documentary I ever filmed, edited, and uploaded on my own and it’s what got me first recognized as a serious editor. The video was about Brandon Bickle, a 2017 Bellwood grad, playing in his first varsity basketball game. The look of gratitude on his and his families face after the video had been uploaded brought tears to my eyes. It was so popular among the public that it went viral. It got recognized by a huge sports website and reached over 100,000 views on The Bleacher Report. I never knew I had the power to touch so many lives by just a short little video. Another all time favorite thing I’ve done on the BluePrint is Forgotten Bellwood. Forgotten Bellwood is a documentary series about forgotten architectural elements of Bellwood-Antis High School. Mr. Naylor and I came up with the idea when I was a junior and this year we brought Mya into the mix to host it. Lets all be honest here, Kaelynn is better behind the camera and editing and Mya is so much better as a host. But here is the thing, I have never put so much effort into editing and filming something before and the feedback from the community has made it worth it. The community absolutely loves our series. It is so nice to understand that Mya and I have an anticipating audience to work for. Forgotten Bellwood is definitely our baby and it is something that I will miss doing. Finally, I am so incredibly honored to have been acknowledged as the Editor in Chief for the 2018-19 school year. That is the title I have been dreaming of since the beginning. It has been an honor to lead our team and try and help them in any way I can. Being the multimedia editor for 2 years was also a very big honor, but being Editor in Chief is something I will never forget.

What would you tell a person considering joining BP?

Please, please just do it. I know that writing may not be for you, but BluePrint isn’t just about writing. It can be about directing, editing, photography, leading, or following. There are so many things you can do to contribute to this amazing site, but at the end of the day, it’s all about impacting other peoples lives. You have to remove your personal opinion from everything you create to make it objective for the reader to decide how they feel. This class is a great atmosphere to build responsibility and people skills. I highly recommend you give it a shot. Now, with that being said, do not take this class as a blow off class. First period is not the time to be doing homework or playing games on the computers. This website requires hard work and focus to succeed.  It is not always easy, but it is 110% worth it.

What are you involved in outside of BP?      

Outside of BluePrint, I play volleyball and I jump in track. I also work at rue21 currently. I enjoy writing so much that BluePrint work takes up a lot of my free time. But of course I love cuddling my lumpy dog, chasing my stupid cat, and spending time with the people I love.