2013 Ridgewood High School graduate

Jeb Bush poses with Ashling Stanek of Ridgewood during the Republican presidential candidate's recent visit to New Hampshire

PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. ANSELM COLLEGE

DECEMBER 30, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2015, 9:59 AM
BY BY DIANA OLIVEIRA
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Working behind the scenes at a broadcast of a presidential primary debate can be chaotic. Anything can go wrong at any moment, and the technical crew is expected to think on its feet and try to salvage potential disasters.

The role is an embodiment of stress. But 20-year-old Ashling Stanek was unaffected by the pressure of being a runner for ABC’s Martha Raddatz and George Stephanopoulos at last Saturday’s Democratic debate. In fact, backstage was where the Saint Anselm College junior felt most comfortable.

“I’m least stressed when there’s lots to do, and when I’m busy and moving and figuring everything out,” said Stanek.

A 2013 Ridgewood High School graduate, Stanek is currently a member of the Kevin Harrington Student Ambassador program at the college’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) in Manchester, N.H. Her position at NHIOP – the center features presentations by renowned speakers, authors and scholars almost daily – has helped her become involved with networks like WMUR, ABC, MSNBC, ESPN and CSPAN. She met the majority of the 2016 presidential candidates, some of them multiple times. She was, therefore, more than qualified to be selected to take part in ABC’s weekend-long coverage of the Democratic primary debate on campus.

Growing up, Stanek regularly sat with her father and discussed what was in the news, specifically the goings-on in Washington, D.C. So, she was understandably thrilled when she learned she’d be putting her longtime knowledge of politics to good use and witnessing political action in person as a member of the production’s crew.

“I’m really interested into going into media production,” said Stanek. “I was really excited to finally get the opportunity to work with all the technology.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/resident-meets-the-candidates-1.1482352

NOVEMBER 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY DIANA OLIVEIRA
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The obstacles to write and direct a film are endless but not insurmountable for a student filmmaker endeavoring to succeed.

Grant Olans, a 2013 Ridgewood High School graduate and now a junior at Emerson College in Boston, is currently working on the post-production stages of what he calls his “most ambitious” short film to date. Having more resources at his disposal, for example, has proved a considerable challenge from what he was accustomed to in the past.

“Before, it was just me holding a camera and working with a couple of actors,” said Olans. “It’s a big crew now with more equipment. There are more moving parts and logistics that you have to keep track of.”

The short film — a project for his intermediate film production class — has been in the works since early October and is called “Inside the Carrousel.” Its concept was derived from two of Olans’ favorite movies, the 1985 comedy-drama “After Hours” and the 1986 romantic-comedy “Something Wild.”

In fact, the main scene in Olans’ eight-minute production is a re-creation of a sequence from the latter. His version, however, looks to antiquate the original 29-year-old scene.

The setting is a French restaurant, where a troubled man named Lance has lost his wallet and can’t leave without paying his bill. His quest to find a way out leads to several encounters. Without wanting to reveal too much, Olans admitted to toying with the idea of karmic punishment.

“The main character can’t connect to his daughter through his own flaws,” explained Olans. “So, losing his wallet and not being able to pay his bill are my own little forms of punishment until he can wake up and make things right.”

The film isn’t overly arty and experimental, said Olans, but rather a remarkably straightforward story with a slightly different narrative. He hopes that this attempt at finding his voice in his way of telling stories will appeal to audiences when he submits “Inside the Carrousel” to film festivals in the coming months.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/favorite-comedies-inspire-student-filmmaker-1.1463652

Ridgewood resident meets the candidates

Favorite comedies inspire Ridgewood student filmmaker