With his headphones on, Christopher Chu (12) pieces together various clips of the cross country team taken before, during, and after races and meets. Memories flash across the screen as the video plays, highlighting the experiences Chu has had with his friends during cross country. 

Ever since he joined cross country in his freshman year, Chu has loved the community and stayed in the sport for all four years of high school. Now, as a senior, he has fulfilled a leadership role of one of the team captains.

On the cross country team, Chu exemplifies great leadership skills and is a person that others can go to when they’re in need of advice or inspiration. His closest friends and teammates have nothing but positive and endearing memories about their friendship with him.

“Chris has enriched my life by setting an incredible example of a leader and what it means to be kind, while still being responsible,” Emily Schott (12) said. “He is a huge inspiration to me and he is always there to give me advice when I need it.”

Others voice this same quality in Chu, making him a friend that they can all lean on.

“I found myself looking at Chris as someone I could talk to about anything and everything. If that be about life, the team, or just about anything on my mind,” Caesar Torres (11) said. “I’m proud to call Chris my friend; someone I hope to never fall out of contact with even after graduation.” 

In addition to Chu’s contribution as a leader and friend to the team, Chu is also the team photographer and videographer.

Chu’s passion for vlogging and editing started back in his junior year when he first took images of the cross country team. Ever since then, his passion has developed into something more than just a hobby, something that creates bonds within his cross country team and something that seals all his memories.

“I just love editing these videos because it’s like a time capsule,” Chu said. “In the future when I leave high school, I can always look back on these videos.”

His passion is so widespread that everyone on the team is happy to record and vlog their own various experiences during races, meets, and retreats. Once all the footage is complete, Chu edits the videos and combines them to make a video highlighting a specific event that the cross country team has participated in, complete with background music and text. All throughout his editing, it is evident that there is passion and careful thought put into each clip, signifying how passionate Chu is about his craft.

“He was able to capture us in such a way that he managed to maintain every bit of emotion in the frame he took,” Torres said. “If you’ve seen any of his photos, you’d understand wholeheartedly.”

Reflecting on his high school journey, Chu knows that his passion for photography and videography stem from his love of cross country. Not just the sport itself, but the friendships and family bonds created within. Chu’s lasting impact on the cross country team will forever be captured within his photographs, videos, and most of all, the memories. 

“I would never regret the decision of joining cross country, no matter how many times I wanted to quit,” Chu said. “Just the people around me, we shaped each other into the people we are now. Cross country made me who I was in high school.”