Fayza Sekatawa, a senior in the Bard Early College program at Dutchess BOCES, feels passionately about preventing kids her age from vaping and entered artwork into the Dutchess County Government’s 2026 “Escape the Vape” Anti Vaping Art Contest, held in partnership with BOCES and the Art Effect, to spread that message. Little did she know, her work would become the basis of a professionally filmed video.
Filming took place Oct. 2 at the Resilience Academy (RA) gym, in a nearby stairwell, the TV & Film Production classroom and outside. The video centers on Anna (portrayed by Dutchess Community College student Maya Simone Moore) who faces peer pressure to use electronic cigarettes and shows the consequences it has on her school and athletic work. “I wanted it to involve sports and hobbies, everything that a teen likes that would make them not what to put what they love in jeopardy because of a vape,” Sekatawa said of her idea. “We have to look out for everyone, even if we don’t know them, because it’s our goal to make everything healthy and better for people.”
Sekatawa was surprised, but grateful to learn that The Art Effect and Forge Media wanted to turn her vision into a video. In addition to adapting her work into a script for the video, Sekatawa was also named assistant producer. “I’ve never done something like this before, it’s unbelievable,” Sekatawa said. “I’m just excited to see how my idea transforms.”
The video’s director Paul Thompson used BOCES as a filming location as it was initially involved in the contest and had facilities that were needed for the video, such as a gym. Students from the morning and afternoon Digital Media Production classes helped set up equipment, morning Fashion Design & Merchandising students assisted with costumes and second-year Cosmetology student Aliyah Diaz styled the performers’ hair. “He [TV & Film Teacher Justin Brown] was like ‘Hey, we have a cosmetology program and a wardrobe [program] and I’m like, ‘Well, we need all of those things,’” Thompson said. “It’s hard for other production companies to take on the role of working with young people, but that’s exactly what Forge Media does – we work with young people, we train them.”
Diaz, who studies in Wendy Wabshinak's class, desires to do hair on film sets, so getting to be chosen for this experience was ideal. “It’s really helpful because then I can be prepared for when I start working,” Diaz said. “My teacher knew this was something that I wanted to do, so she offered it to me.”
Michael Morfea, a second-year TV & Film student, appreciated that the Art Effect invited him and his classmates to help out on the set and get valuable experience related to what they learned in class.
“I was sitting behind the monitor that was connected to the camera and seeing what the shot actually looked like,” Morfea said. “It was awesome to see it first-hand; it really gave me a look into what I want to do in the future.”
Thompson, who also serves as The Art Effect’s Associate Director of Workforce Programs, was impressed by the BOCES students’ work ethic, where they completed and succeeded in tasks that were not asked of them. “I would love to continue to work with them – if they’re doing this during the school day, there’s an opportunity to do it after school,” Thompson said. “I’m hoping we can build a partnership with BOCES to figure out a way to continue to do this.”
