Scene Video Audio

1 B-roll: The Mississippi River at Music: Soft, slow piano music.

sunrise.

Title Card: “Off Path”

Narration: DERRICK JENKINS, Narration: “When we’re young, we’re told

standing before a backdrop, facing the that our lives will probably go something
camera, eye-level, medium shot. like this.”

B-roll: The LSU Quad, mid-afternoon, Narration: “We go through the K-12 school
students are walking to and from system - elementary school, middle school,
class. high school - and after we graduate with
our high school diploma, we’d continue our
education by going to college.”

Narration: Same as original setup Narration: “After college, we’d get good
jobs, make good money. At some point,
we’d meet someone special and get
married. Of course, then comes kids who’ll
grow up and go through the same
process.”

B-roll: Long shot of the LSU Parade Narration: “Eventually, we all get to retire
Grounds, the flag pole and clocktower and enjoy the fruits of our labor.”
in the distance.
Music: Somber piano music

Narration: Same as original setup Narration: “But many people find

(medium shot) themselves straying away from the path for
one reason or another. Life often gets in
the way and throws some of us off course.”

B-roll: The Mississippi River with the Narration: “Some of us don’t finish high
bridge in the background. school or need to take a break before
college. We refer to them as ‘nontraditional
students.’”

Narration: Same setup, but now shot Narration: “Who are nontraditional
is a close-up students, though? And what makes their
college experience so different? Before I
jump into that, let me introduce you to two
good friends of mine.”

2 Lutfi Interview: LUTFI ABUHAJAH, Lutfi Interview: “Hi, my name is Lutfi

22 years old, sits before a black Abuhajah. I’m 22 years old, and I’m from
backdrop. He is wearing a green Baton Rouge, LA.”
 sweater.

Kaitlin Interview: KAITLIN Kaitlin Interview: “My name is Kaitlin. I’m

DILWORTH, 21 years old, sits before 21 years old and I’m a psychology major.”
a black backdrop. She is wearing a
grey jacket and a white shirt.

Narration: Same as original setup. Narration: “Kaitlin and Lutfi are both
currently in the process of completing their
degrees. When we think about
nontraditional students, many may picture
older people going back to school or even
starting school for the first time.”

B-roll: The LSU Quad, facing the Narration: “But the term actually includes
Library, long shot. It is full of students many different kinds of people in a number
crossing the quad, heading towards of situations.”
their classes.

Narration: Same as original setup. Narration: “Generally, nontraditional

students are defined as students with at
least a 1 year gap between graduating high
school and enrolling in college.”

B-roll: The BRCC Quad in the Narration: “However, according to AMG

afternoon, long shot of the fountain Higher Education Marketing, students with
and flag poles. a GED, students who work full time while in
school, and students who have non-
spousal dependants or are fully financially
independent are also included under this
term.

Narration: Now at a close-up. Narration: “But what makes these

students want to return to school?”

3 Kaitlin Interview: Kaitlin is sitting Kaitlin Interview: Kaitlin discusses her

before a black backdrop, close-up. struggles with addiction after graduating
from high school.

Narration: Same as before (close-up). Narration: “The most common reasons

nontraditional students enroll in college are
due to serving in the military, where
members receive education benefits while
enlisted, and economic recession, where
many use college as a way of moving into
a new field of work or moving up within
their current career.”

Lutfi Interview: Now at a close-up. Lutfi Interview: Lutfi discusses hating the
 job he worked after high school and not
wanting to stay in that position.

B-roll: The BRCC Quad again, with Narration: “Regardless of their reasons,
students walking to class in the nontraditional students make up a large
background. chunk of the undergrad population in this
country. According to the National Center
for Education Statistics, approximately
73% of undergrads fall into at least 1 of the
defining characteristics of nontraditional
students.”

Narration: Same as before (close-up). Narration: “Of course, both the traditional
and nontraditional routes have their pros
and cons.”

Lutfi Interview: Back to a medium Lutfi Interview: Lutfi discusses his

shot. struggles with balancing school, work, and
life.

Kaitlin Interview: Back to a medium Kaitlin Interview: Kaitlin talks about the
shot. advantages of being nontraditional (better
focus, more experience, etc…)

Narration: Back to medium shot. Narration: “Increased stress, low self-

esteem, depression, and anxiety are just a
few of the challenges nontraditional
students face, although, with the right
support, they can overcome these
difficulties.”

Kaitlin Interview: Same as before Kaitlin Interview: Kailtlin discusses how

(medium shot). she relies on her friends and family as
support.

Lutfi Interview: Same as before Lutfi Interview: Lutfi discusses the

(medium shot). support he’s received from his professors.

B-roll: The Fountain in the LSU Quad, Narration: “Having a solid support system
long shot. and the right resources can be a life-saver
for any student, but they help even more
tremendously for nontraditional students.”

Narration: Same as before (medium Narration: “And that’s something I can

shot). discuss from personal experience.”

4 Narration: Now, back to a close-up. Narration: “So, there’s something I should

probably mention. This topic isn’t just one
that I thought would be important to inform
 others about; it actually hits far closer to
home”

Derrick Interview: DERRICK Derrick Interview: “Hi, my name is

JENKINS, 29 years old, sits before a Derrick. I’m a Screen Arts Major. I’m from
black backdrop, medium shot. Lafayette, and I am also a nontraditional
student.”

Narration: Same as before (close-up). Narration: “Earlier, I explained that military

service and recessions were the biggest
reasons nontraditional students enrolled in
college, but there’s one more reason that I
didn’t mention…”

B-Roll: The Mississippi River, now at Narration: “... one that’s being incredibly
sunset with the bridge in the distance. relevant in recent years - and it’s what
made me come back to school after 6
years of not being enrolled.”

Archival Footage: News Footage Archival Footage: News reports from

from the start of the Covid-19 2020 discussing the Covid-19 pandemic,
pandemic in 2020. the first cases in the United States, the
virus being found in Louisiana, and
lockdowns going into effect.

Derrick Interview: Same as before Derrick Interview: Derrick discusses

(medium shot). working a dead end job at the start of the
pandemic, being dissatisfied with life, and
how a pair of family friends gave him the
push to re-enroll in school.

Music: Soft, happy and hopeful piano

B-roll: The front of the LSU Student music.
Union. Students are walking by.
Derrick Interview: “Having that kind of
Derrick Interview: Same as before support - that push to do something you
(medium shot). may not have thought you could do -
changed my life. It’s motivated me to do
pretty much whatever it takes to finish my
degree.

Lutfi Interview: Back to close-up. Lutfi Interview: Lutfi talks about wanting
to provide for his family.

Kaitlin Interview: Back to close-up. Kaitlin Interview: Kaitlin talks about using
her degree to help others who struggle with
addiction.
5 Narration: Back to medium shot. Narration: “So many nontraditional
students feel immense stress and
disappointment with themselves due to
feeling like “the oldest in the room” in their
classes.”

B-roll: The Fountain in the LSU Quad, Narration: “Or they feel as though they’ve
full shot. been “left behind” by friends who took a
traditional route in their education.”

Kaitlin Interview: Kaitlin discusses feeling

Kaitlin Intrerview: Back to medium like she’s so far behind some of her friends
shot. from high school.

Narration: “But we’re not just doing this for

Narration: Close-up again. others - for out families and friends - nor
are we doing this solely for our own
futures.”

Narration: “There’s one other person

Observational: Shots of Lutfi, Kaitlin, many of us are putting in all of our hard
and Derrick sitting just as before. They work for: that younger version of ourselves
are looking straight ahead, but they who had to stray away from the path we
are not speaking. expected ourselves to go down.”

Derrick Interview: Derrick talks about

Derrick Interview: Close-up on him. being disappointed after dropping out, but
also how much better he is now from going
through that.

Kaitlin Interview: Kaitlin discusses feeling

Kaitlin Interview: Close-up on her. like she’d never get clean when she was
younger.

Lutfi Interview: Lutfi talks about his

Lutfi Interview: Close-up on him. younger self being proud of who he is now
and what he’s accomplished so far.