“They see the success that it’s had and there is no stopping it anytime soon.”
The Smith Family’s Recycling Story:
ABOUT MY ONE MINUTE DOCUMENTARY
By Logan Trueblood
My story is based on the giant water bottle man exhibit at the museum. The art of safe recycling is what motivated me to create the story. The Smith household is in the Grand Prairie/Arlington area. They pride themselves in practicing good and safe recycling every week. Along with that, they run their own family business that started back in 2015. The family business is best described as spreading the word of cleanliness to the community. The Smiths collect recycled items that people bring over from the surrounding neighborhoods. Jennie Smith and her husband Shawn said they have been very fortunate to run this business for so long.
Outside of their family business and safe recycling practices, the couple have personal lives as well. They have one child, and they both have full-time jobs. Jennie has been a material tester for a local craft company since 2016, and Shawn has been an accountant for the past 20 years. Their jobs are very different from recycling, but they love what they do as a whole. The Smiths hope they can keep running the business for as long as they can. They see the success that it’s had and there is no stopping it anytime soon.
Meet Logan Trueblood
My name is Logan Trueblood and I was born in Dallas, Texas. I grew up the first 7 years of my life in Cedar Hill and the last 18 years in Grand Prairie. I’m currently a senior at UTA, and I’m graduating this December with a bachelor’s degree in comm/journalism. I plan on becoming either a sports or music journalist when I get done with school. Some hobbies I enjoy doing include listening to music, playing video games, watching TV (mainly sports), going to sporting events, going to concerts, and hanging out with my friends and family.
About AMA+UTA CreateCollab
Throughout the Fall 2024 semester, the Arlington Museum of Art is partnering with The University of Texas at Arlington and a senior-level digital storytelling class to explore a wide variety of contemporary themes inspired by the museum’s mission, values, and exhibitions.
Class projects include photo essays, one-minute documentaries, and one-minute podcasts about themes as broad as creating detailed flower arrangements, a life saving cat cafe, everyday heroes, and environmental art.
Associate Professor of Communication Erika Pribanic-Smith, who teaches the class, values opportunities to bring real-world experiences to her students.
“My goal is to give my students real-world experience in all of my classes, creating real stories using real sources,” said Dr. Pribanic-Smith. “Creating stories that will be published for the public to see, not just submitted for a grade, gives students extra incentive to put forth their best effort. Furthermore, working with professionals gives the students another layer of feedback to reinforce what they’re learning in the classroom. I prefer to work with organizations like the Arlington Museum of Art who will benefit in some way from the students’ content so that we are providing a service to the community.”
