Cadet Media Group capturing life of cadets in video, photos

By Brandon OConnorOctober 18, 2019

Cadet Media Group
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Cadet Media Group
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Cadet Media Group
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WEST POINT, N.Y. -- She had been waiting for the shot all game.

After Jabari Moore raced 54 yards down the field for a fumble return touchdown and Army's final score of the game against Tulane, it was time for the post-score ritual.

U.S. Military Academy leadership, spirit groups and cadets sprinted into the endzone to do pushups celebrating the touchdown. Camera in hand, Class of 2023 Cadet Hannah Lamb ran after them onto the field.

As Command Sgt. Maj. Jack Love started his pushups, Lamb laid on the ground, left hand propped under the camera, right hand on the shutter firing away.

Lamb's job as a member of the Cadet Media Group is to capture the scenes of an Army home football game. Not so much the action on the field, but the cadets, the fans and the entire atmosphere of gameday from the pregame parade to Michie Stadium.

"It's a lot of responsibility that's placed in my hands as someone who's completely new to this place," Lamb said. "I think the most rewarding thing is when you're able to send pictures you've taken to cadets and they get super excited about it. It's also just gotten me into really cool places that I may not ever see in my four years or I just may not see in the same way."

The Cadet Media Group formed four years ago and officially became a Directorate of Cadet Activities club for this academic year. The club includes photographers and videographers who work to capture the life of cadets in ways no one else can.

"I think CMG helps bridge that civil/mil gap and portray the cadet story," Class of 2020 Cadet Amanda Lin, the cadet in charge of Cadet Media Group, said. "I think cadets really appreciate seeing their side of things through a more polished eye. Nobody gets to see the cadet experience as well as we do."

The members of the club help to cover events both at and away from West Point including football games, the Tunnel to Towers run in New York City and Ring Weekend.

As cadets, they have access no other photographers or videographers have and are able to show the cadet experience in ways only they can.

"I think it's important for us to share West Point's message and what cadets are doing and opportunities you have here," Class of 2022 Cadet Kaden Carroll said. "I think coming from a cadet or hearing cadet experiences or things like that makes it a whole lot better. Being able to cover events and share things that are happening here at West Point and reaching out to the public as well as people who are here, it's cool to share that."

The photographers and videographers in Cadet Media Groups have the benefit of seeing the Corps of Cadets from a perspective provided to few of their classmates. As most members of the Corps sit in the stands during football games, select members of the club are on the field taking pictures. During reviews and parades, instead of marching with their companies they stand at the front with cameras capturing the event.

"It's something that's totally different than everyone else's experience, because we have to be in the position to take the pictures from an outside point of view while every other cadet has to be on the inside," Lamb said.

For Lamb and Carroll, the Cadet Media Group was on their radar before they even arrived along the banks of the Hudson River. Both had followed members of the group on social media and had seen cadets' products used on official West Point pages.

They quickly got involved and started producing their own photos and videos covering the Corps. Carroll has become the club's go-to videographer in his year plus at the academy while Lamb has jumped in with both feet covering multiple events in only a few months as a cadet.

"I think the coolest video I got to do was when the Army Dance team reached out to me," Carroll said. "I just basically went around to different locations around West Point and filmed them dancing to one of their songs they had choreographed a dance to. It was super cool to meet new people as well as do what I love."

Since joining as a plebe, Lin has seen the club grow from just a few members to an active group of photographers covering almost every event occurring at West Point. After branding themselves as the Cadet Media Group in the 2018-19 academic year, they officially became a club this year solidifying their place as a key part of the Corps of Cadets.

"It reminds me of how special this school is," Lin said. "When you're going through the day, it's just kind of dull and boring and you kind of forget why you're here. Then, I got to shoot the Sandhurst Competition last spring and seeing my photos from that and seeing them shared on social media, everyone was like, 'What you do at school is so cool.' That's easy to forget when you're doing homework, but when you get to see it, it's cool."

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