In the spotlight for a change: a profile of Sheila Schroeder
In her office in the Mass Communications building, inscribed on a small, yellow piece of paper stuck to the face of a computer are the words, “What you wish to experience, provide for others.”
This is the idea behind Sheila Schroeder’s passion for sharing her knowledge with students as an assistant professor in the Department of Mass Communications and Journalism Studies.
Her passion for film was born when she worked with a colleague on a project for the Public Broadcasting System affiliate in Bloomington, Ind.The project centered on organic farming and was titled “Sisters of the Earth.”
“I told my colleague that I wanted to get up at 4 o’clock and capture the sun rising. And I did. It was foggy and the grass was full of dew that morning, I just loved the images. That’s when I was hooked,” said Schroeder.
She began working toward her doctorate at Indiana University while teaching introductory film courses as a graduate student. It was during that time that Schroeder recognized what it was that she wanted to do with her life.
In 1997, Schroeder left Bloomington and headed for Denver.
“I found my dream job at the University of Denver. And it really is,” said Schroeder.”Fate was shining on me.”
Schroeder currently teaches courses such as Film Narrative and Scriptwriting. In addition to teaching, Schroeder has produced four films in the past five years.
“See What I Got: A Story of Girls, Basketball, Confidence, and Courage” is a short film about young women overcoming personal challenges through the strength and confidence they gain in their love and passion for basketball. This film is one of Schroeder’s most acclaimed films and was shown in four film festivals, including a festival in Mumbai, India.
“Proud Alumni” is Schroeder’s 2004 short film, which has since been shown at eight film festivals and has received an Award of Excellence from the Berkeley Video and Film Festival. “Proud Alumni” is an autobiographical film about Schroeder’s experience of rejection after requesting her alma mater to print her same-sex wedding announcement.
“I spent 24 hours being mad. And then I decided that I was going to use my frustration to make a film. I went out to my car and scraped off the bumper sticker that read, ‘Proud Alumni, Valparaiso University.’ That’s actually a shot in the film and that’s where the title came from,” said Schroeder.
In 2005, Schroeder made “Sideshow,” a documentary about the Kobe Bryant trial and how the broadcast media failed to concentrate any of the footage on the female who accussed the basketball star of raping her,
“The broadcast media had spent so much time focusing on the celebrity culture, and so little time on her,” said Schroeder. Schroeder’s footage in this film centers on the culture outside of the courthouse.
“That is what I call the side show” said Schroeder.
Schroeder’s most recent film, “Crunch!” was co-produced with Kate Burns. It presents a story about Schroeder’s mother-in-law and her reaction to life’s challenges and the ways she chose to confront them. The short film was finished in 2006 and has since been screened at more than 10 film festivals all over the country.
All of these films sit stacked in their cases on her bookshelf in her office. When asked which one she was most proud of, Schroeder gazed at them and explained, “That is an impossible question. What is sitting right there is my whole body of knowledge, and the best part of it all is that I can share those experiences with my students.”
Schroeder is currently working on three more films, “Sole Journey,” “Hoosiers’ Hold ’em” and “Woodstock West.”
As she’s done for the past 10 years, she intends to continue teaching because she believes that, “lives are made much more full by providing for and sharing with others, rather than keeping to one’s self. That’s one of the things I think DU has done very well, encouraging students to move from attending to the self toward attending to others.”
