Announcing the 2022 Summer Video Interns!

We are so excited to announce the 2022 Dragons Video Interns! This summer we’ll have four interns traveling across the globe, capturing the day-to-day experience, exciting moments, and beautiful stories that make up Dragons’ programs. We spoke with a few of the interns to show you what they’re up to and why they are excited for this project! Some interns are Dragons alumni and we have some folks who have been around the Dragons community — and we’re so lucky they’re here with us this summer to tell the Dragons story.

Danielle Mullings, 2022 Video Intern

Danielle Mullings, 2019 South America Semester Alumni  

Where are you in life now? What are you up to? 

Marrying her love for technology and the arts, Danielle is a The University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Scholar studying for a BSc in software engineering with a minor in film studies. Her dynamism currently finds her as the UWI Mona Guild President, youth leader, television host/producer and partnership and campaign officer for Transform Health. Exciting for Danielle is the opportunity to be working with youth groups for other key digital health initiatives, including the Governing Health Futures 2030 operated by the Lancet and Financial Times commission. A champion for advocacy, Mullings was also recognized as one of the Young Experts in Tech for Health in the Americas Region. In addition, Danielle was also a UNICEF U-Report Jamaica ambassador. She and her team worked assiduously to begin the development of a mental health chatline, which was recently launched in March of this year.

Why are you excited about this project? 

I have long been passionate about documentary making which I view as the gateway to cultural retention and the edification of a shared identity. Here within the Caribbean, I aim to advance our capacity to accurately represent our own stories through my work. Thus, I am excited to tell the story of Dragons students, instructors and the communities we engage with. To this day, I still carry the Dragon’s spirit of a curious, conscious and socially aware traveler who is eager to meet and engage with new people. Thus, traveling with this team again is always a welcomed adventure and opportunity.

Arian Tomar, 2022 Video Intern

Adrian Tomar, 2022 Video Intern 

Where are you in life now? What are you up to? 

My name is Arian Tomar, I am an international student from the land historically stewarded by the Wahpekute Dakota Band in what is now known as St. Paul, Minnesota. I am studying in so called British Columbia on the unceded territory of the Scia’new Beecher Bay First Nation at Pearson College UWC, one of the seventeen United World Colleges whose mission it is to use “education as a force to unite peoples, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.” This fall I will be heading to Los Angeles to study film production at the University of Southern California. I am a documentary filmmaker and outdoor media creator who draws from my diverse interests and background as a Third Culture Kid to tell stories that connect audiences with the world around them, generate empathy, and motivate socially aware action. Currently I am finishing up a documentary project to uplift local perspectives from Vancouver Island to support salmon restoration and conservation across the Pacific salmon bioregion. I am also hosting this season of Coastal Insights, a webinar made in partnership between the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Take a Stand: Youth for Conservation. This season, our guests are speaking about hope, equity, and advocacy in the face of the climate crisis. 

Why are you excited for this project?

I am excited to be part of this project because of my experience with the UWC movement and my belief in the power of media to bring the world together. Through the cross-cultural, experiential learning model of UWC, I have learned so much about my place in the world and how I may make an impact on a global scale in a community of change-makers. Furthermore, I hope to use the power of media and storytelling to motivate audiences to take socially aware action for the betterment of all. Where There Be Dragons brings these two sides of me together to capture stories of resilience, growth, reflection, and community at a time in the world where hope feels distant. In working with Where There Be Dragons, I hope to highlight what makes us all human and inspire audiences to share Dragons’ vision to foster a more compassionate, just, and inclusive world.

Benjamin Swift, 2022 Video Intern

Benjamin Swift, 2016 South America Semester Alumni 

Where are you in life now? What are you currently up to?

After two gap years (one after high school during which I did my Dragons semester, and one last year during Covid), I am in my last semester at Colorado College where I am studying sociology.

Why are you excited for this project? 

In addition to my sociology studies in college, I completed several filmmaking courses and learned to love telling stories through film. However, many of my films thus far have not directly related to my interest in activism and social change, which is one of the components of Dragons I am excited to explore through this project. I have always seen film as a way to share important stories in an engaging way, and am thrilled to begin doing that as a video production intern.