Spotlight: SpyHop

by MEGAN BARTHOLOMEW

On July 26th, social media celebrated #NationalInternDay, featuring successfully “careered” individuals sharing their stories of how their internships gave them the extra boost to prepare them for a career. Most of the individuals who shared were from the fields of journalism and media; one company that got several shout-outs was SpyHop.

SpyHop, whose motto is “Youth Media Matters,” is a media center in Salt Lake City dedicated to training Utah’s youth in digital media and creativity, helping them find their own voice, and offering skills to prepare them for a career in media. SpyHop accomplishes these goals by providing a variety of classes and workshops for media-interested youth. Currently, they run three-week “media labs.” Each lab offers students ages 13-19 experience in film, audio, and design, taught by experts. The topics for July’s labs include 3D art & design, Green Screen training, and music editing workshops.

SpyHop has five main values: empowerment, transformation, diversity, innovation and community. With these values, they focus on helping youth to find their own voice, while recognizing and promoting the diverse voices of others at the same time. Not only do they hope to create skilled workers, they also strive to create a generation of media-literate individuals to cultivate a better future for our culture. Ultimately, they want to shift the way youth view themselves and create a strong community that can impact social change in the future.

Currently, SpyHop is in their fundraising phase to build a new facility in the Central Ninth neighborhood. Those interested in donating to youth creativity can do so at www.spyhop.org.