Holy Cross Academy Recruitment Video

Since his arrival at Holy Cross Catholic Academy in the summer of 2010, Father Robert A. Busch has worked tirelessly to promote the school.

His job has gotten a little easier.

Holy Cross parents and staff gathered Oct. 1 at the school for the official release of a recruitment video, Holy Cross Catholic Academy: Where Faith And Learning Meet. The video is a collaboration between HCCA and West Texas A&M University.

?We had been having several discussions at our Advisory Board meetings about how to better market HCCA in the Amarillo area,? said Father Busch. ?One of our board members, Bud Schertler, met with Dr. Leigh Browning, a marketing professor at West Texas A&M, about the possibility of having a group of her marketing students create a promotional video for us. That conversation was a positive one, so Bud took the idea back to our Advisory Board, and they enthusiastically signed off on the project. I?ve know Dr. Browning since we were in college together, so I knew she and her students would do a great job for us.?

The video was shot over several days at Holy Cross Catholic Academy by a nine-person crew, who invested more than 200 hours in the project, according to Dr. Browning.

?The crew filmed everyday life at the school, as well as a few special events, such as our awards banquet, spring concert and graduation,? Father Busch said. ?We had more than enough students and parents volunteer to be interviewed for the video. When the film crew left, they had hours and hours worth of footage that, remarkably, they were able to edit down to a seven-minute video that tells a great story about HCCA.?

What makes this recruitment video even more unique is the distribution, with the video available primarily through social media.

?So many people use different forms of social media today, that it just makes sense for HCCA to have a presence in this world if we want more people to get to know about us,? said Father Busch. ?It?s also is a low-cost way of advertising.

?I invite all Catholics?especially Catholic parents in the Amarillo area?to view the video on our school?s website ( www.holycrossama.org) and to share the video with your family and friends.?

What did a video like this mean to those from West Texas A&M University who worked on this project?

?The HCCA project brought our crew closer, expanded the knowledge of those on the crew and reminded all of us that Faith-Based education serves an important niche in our community,? said Dr. Browning.

Could there be another HCCA/WTAMU collaboration on the horizon?

?I?ve briefly mentioned the possibility of doing another video to Dr. Browning and she seems very open to the idea,? said Father Busch. ?Once I gauge how effective this video is, then I will explore with our elementary school principals the question of whether or not they think a video promoting our four Catholic elementary schools would be helpful for their schools.?