(Sept. 8, 2016) Worcester Preparatory School alumna Alexandra Bruder recently returned from a three-week trip to Rio de Janeiro, where she covered the Olympics as part of a college program.
The 21-year-old, who grew up in Ocean City, was covering aspects of the games for Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina, where she is enrolled as a communications major and plays on the lacrosse team.
“At our school we do a thing called JBIP [John Belk International Program]. Our trip is included in our tuition, so it allows students to really go to different countries if they can afford it,” she said. “It was a selective program, so I had to apply and be interviewed on my video, photography and writing abilities.”
Bruder found out she had made it into the study abroad program in December, took a preparatory class this spring, then spent Aug. 5-22 in the Brazilian city.
While overseas, she and two other students, sports management major Kelsey McCormick and communications major Ashley Osiecki, collaborated on three video packages: “Copacabana Hosts a Multi-Cultural Block Party Daily,” “The Life of a Charlotte Sports Marketer at the Rio Olympics” and “In the Face of Airbnb, Rio Hostels Thrive.”
“The ‘Copacabana’ one was about the atmosphere and what kind of culture that beach is able to bring together,” Bruder said. “It is definitely not the easiest thing carry around a camera at one of the most well-known beaches in the world and understand a language and culture you only learned about for a semester. People were so welcoming and were willing to talk, but at the same time you have to be aware of your surroundings the whole time so nothing gets stolen.
“The sports marketing story was a good one because the girl I interviewed, Brittany Phillip, actually went to Queens and played on the women’s lacrosse team a few years before I got there,” Bruder continued. “It was cool to see her journey and how she got to the Olympics and her experience down there.”
In the Airbnb story, the group examined how the Olympic were affecting local hostels.
“It was cool to talk to different American students in the hostel and see what their experiences were,” Bruder said. “I also got to talk to the owners to see how their business was growing because of the Olympics.”
Bruder, the videographer of the group, was in charge of shooting and editing the clips, each about two-and-a-half minutes long. Written articles and still photos accompanied the videos.
Altogether, eight groups of three-to-four students went on the trip.
“We brainstormed our story ideas in class during the spring semester and divided the stories up when we got there,” Bruder said. “Some of the topics changed depending on interviews, certain safety situations and travel, but overall working with the a team of three was perfect. We each brought something to the group that made the videos unique, and I could not have asked for two better girls to work with me.”
The videos are hosted on a website sponsored by the university, called “Queens in Rio.” An NBC affiliate in Charlotte also published several of the stories online.
“We wanted to show people the different cultures that came together, our experience, and how we can make a change in the world with the stories we make,” Bruder said.
While in Rio, she also took in portions of the Olympic games, including the women’s volleyball matchup between Brazil and Switzerland, which Brazil narrowly won.
“That was probably one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life,” Bruder said. “I also went to Ipanema beach and it is the most beautiful spot to watch the sunset and see the favelas (working class neighborhoods) light up every night. The first day we got there, we also went to go see Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain. It was cloudy that day, but still so beautiful.”
Overall, she said she was taken aback by how many different cultures were able to gather in one place so seamlessly.
“I have never been to a place where I feel like such an outsider, but so welcomed at the same time,” she said. “I get chills thinking about me being in the stadium of the soccer game and the Brazilians signing their national anthem with such pride.
“It was beautiful just to watch and take it all in,” she continued. “I also learned not to take anything for granted. In life, you need to go out of your comfort zone and take every opportunity you have, because if you don you can miss something amazing. This trip will be something I will remember forever, [and] the friends and memories I made will always be in my heart.”
To view the “Queens in Rio” stories, visit www.queensinrio.org
The 21-year-old, who grew up in Ocean City, was covering aspects of the games for Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina, where she is enrolled as a communications major and plays on the lacrosse team.
“At our school we do a thing called JBIP [John Belk International Program]. Our trip is included in our tuition, so it allows students to really go to different countries if they can afford it,” she said. “It was a selective program, so I had to apply and be interviewed on my video, photography and writing abilities.”
Bruder found out she had made it into the study abroad program in December, took a preparatory class this spring, then spent Aug. 5-22 in the Brazilian city.
While overseas, she and two other students, sports management major Kelsey McCormick and communications major Ashley Osiecki, collaborated on three video packages: “Copacabana Hosts a Multi-Cultural Block Party Daily,” “The Life of a Charlotte Sports Marketer at the Rio Olympics” and “In the Face of Airbnb, Rio Hostels Thrive.”
“The ‘Copacabana’ one was about the atmosphere and what kind of culture that beach is able to bring together,” Bruder said. “It is definitely not the easiest thing carry around a camera at one of the most well-known beaches in the world and understand a language and culture you only learned about for a semester. People were so welcoming and were willing to talk, but at the same time you have to be aware of your surroundings the whole time so nothing gets stolen.
“The sports marketing story was a good one because the girl I interviewed, Brittany Phillip, actually went to Queens and played on the women’s lacrosse team a few years before I got there,” Bruder continued. “It was cool to see her journey and how she got to the Olympics and her experience down there.”
In the Airbnb story, the group examined how the Olympic were affecting local hostels.
“It was cool to talk to different American students in the hostel and see what their experiences were,” Bruder said. “I also got to talk to the owners to see how their business was growing because of the Olympics.”
Bruder, the videographer of the group, was in charge of shooting and editing the clips, each about two-and-a-half minutes long. Written articles and still photos accompanied the videos.
Altogether, eight groups of three-to-four students went on the trip.
“We brainstormed our story ideas in class during the spring semester and divided the stories up when we got there,” Bruder said. “Some of the topics changed depending on interviews, certain safety situations and travel, but overall working with the a team of three was perfect. We each brought something to the group that made the videos unique, and I could not have asked for two better girls to work with me.”
The videos are hosted on a website sponsored by the university, called “Queens in Rio.” An NBC affiliate in Charlotte also published several of the stories online.
“We wanted to show people the different cultures that came together, our experience, and how we can make a change in the world with the stories we make,” Bruder said.
While in Rio, she also took in portions of the Olympic games, including the women’s volleyball matchup between Brazil and Switzerland, which Brazil narrowly won.
“That was probably one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life,” Bruder said. “I also went to Ipanema beach and it is the most beautiful spot to watch the sunset and see the favelas (working class neighborhoods) light up every night. The first day we got there, we also went to go see Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain. It was cloudy that day, but still so beautiful.”
Overall, she said she was taken aback by how many different cultures were able to gather in one place so seamlessly.
“I have never been to a place where I feel like such an outsider, but so welcomed at the same time,” she said. “I get chills thinking about me being in the stadium of the soccer game and the Brazilians signing their national anthem with such pride.
“It was beautiful just to watch and take it all in,” she continued. “I also learned not to take anything for granted. In life, you need to go out of your comfort zone and take every opportunity you have, because if you don you can miss something amazing. This trip will be something I will remember forever, [and] the friends and memories I made will always be in my heart.”
To view the “Queens in Rio” stories, visit www.queensinrio.org