Youth Heroes

• Morgan O'Neil
• Sophie Cai
• Kiran Pendi and Jonathan Sellon
• Laura Goldhamer
• Amy, Allie, and David Steinmetz
• Travis Blinn, Allison Roberto, and Ethan Falla
• Sadie Hartell and Elizabeth Kelly
• Mtani
• Will Michael

Will Michael

Will Michael of Bethel, Connecticut may only be 22 years old, but the energetic junior from Western Connecticut State University already has his own public access television show with viewers from all across Connecticut. His show, "Connecticut Naturalist," is an informative and entertaining 30-minute experience in which Will teaches his viewers about Connecticut 's environment and wildlife.

When he was growing up, Will's parents would often take their son and his friends on camping trips throughout the state. At the time they had no way of knowing that these excursions would inspire and foster Will's great love for the outdoors.

At one point during his teenage years at Immaculate High School in Danbury , Will was given the opportunity to volunteer for the Connecticut Amphibian Monitoring Project. Part of his job was to observe and count amphibian populations in Danbury . Said Will, "When I was able to help out on the Monitoring Project, I found something not only that I enjoyed doing, but that I wanted to make a career out of."

During his freshman year of college, Will started filming yellow-spotted salamanders, an elusive amphibian that only emerges from its underground home for one week each year. After filming these animals for dozens of hours, Will then edited the tape and added a voice-over tract. Based on positive reactions from his friends, family, and colleagues, Will decided to expand the focus of his films and began to tape other types of Connecticut wildlife.

Last year, Will filled out the necessary paperwork in Bethel 's Public Access office to allow him to start his own television series with his wildlife footage. Although Comcast Cable initially only picked up Will's series for 13-episodes, he has since been able to keep it going for more than 50 segments and has expanded it now to appear on eight cable franchises.

For the first 25 minutes of each show, Will discusses and shows different video clips about Connecticut wildlife. For the last 5 minutes of the show, Will plays music videos that he composes, sings, and edits himself. The educational and comical videos, targeted towards the youth, feature songs about animals that appear on the show, such as frogs, vultures, toads, and turtles.

Said Will, "When I graduate from college, I hope that I can either get a job with National Geographic or the Discovery Channel, something involved with science videography. For now, though, I plan on doing the best I can to teach as many people as possible about their diverse Connecticut outdoors."

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