As 2025 comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on a year packed with storytelling, teaching, filmmaking, and a whole lot of words (both written and spoken). It’s been a year of long-awaited premieres, new adventures, and projects that continue to grow and connect with communities across Indiana and beyond.

What started as a simple goal, to create equitable, accessible access to the Grand Calumet Lagoon and River, grew into Indiana’s first universally designed kayak launch and sensory garden. Capturing this process on film was essential because this story isn’t just about a physical space, it’s about how community-led initiatives, public–private partnerships, and persistence can make meaningful, lasting change.

Over the past year and a half, I had the incredible honor of designing and facilitating workshops as part of the Silver Screen Filmmakers Club. Through five cohorts and 25 weeks of classes across multiple locations, I had the joy of guiding participants, aged 65 and up, through the process of creating short documentary films.