Shifting focus: WMU film grad Aidan Ralko captures success through Experience-Driven Learning
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Choosing a random seat at a meet-and-greet led to a meet-cute of sorts for Aidan Ralko and his future career. A first-year student eager to find his fit on Western Michigan University’s campus, he decided to check out a gathering for the University’s newspaper, the Western Herald, and grabbed the first empty seat he could find.
“It ended up being the photography table. I had never touched a professional camera before,” laughs the aspiring filmmaker. “But I’m so glad I sat where I did. It ended up being the perfect choice.”
That chance encounter opened several doors for Ralko, who graduates Saturday, May 2, with a bachelor’s degree in film, video and media studies and a resume packed with awards, internships, professional work and global experience that helped him land a full-time job with Kalamazoo-based video production company Overneath.
“Western prepared me for the future by presenting me with opportunity,” he says. “You have to actively pursue those opportunities; they’re not just given to you. But here at Western, if you’re willing to take that step, you have a support system while you pursue them.”
Bringing a dream to life
A kid with a knack for creativity, Ralko grew up in Howell, Michigan, acting in plays and making movies on his iPad with his siblings. “I still have a 20-minute movie I made for ‘Toy Story 4’ that was basically the script from ‘Toy Story 3’ with me moving toys around,” he remembers.
He decided to follow that passion for storytelling to Western, where he was drawn to the film, video and media studies program.
“I never would have gotten the same exposure and connections if I hadn’t come to WMU,” he says. “When I came here, I knew I wanted to work with some form of media. But going through classes really brought to light that directing is what I want to do. Taking some of the film theory classes really opened up a different lens for me about what goes into making a film that I wasn’t familiar with.”
A film history class with Vincent Longo, assistant professor of communication, opened Ralko’s eyes to the origins of his craft and connected him with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand his world view. With Longo’s encouragement, Ralko applied and was accepted to the prestigious Collegium for Le Giornate del Cinema Muto—an elite cohort of students from around the world who are immersed in a silent film festival in Pordenone, Italy.
“I had never even been out of the country before that, so it was a really amazing opportunity,” he says. “It gave me a newfound appreciation for film and how far it’s come.”
With the support of travel grants from the College of Arts and Sciences and Lee Honors College, the life-changing experience was also fully funded.
“I feel very lucky to have the University back my experience, because it made it so much more possible,” Ralko says, adding that the Bronco Merit Scholarship and the Peter and Laurel Northouse Leadership Scholarship also played a large role in supporting his success at Western.
“All of these programs were hugely beneficial to me,” he says. “These grants and scholarships helped take down some of the financial barriers that often keep students away from experiences and tools that are instrumental in their success.”
Stacking up resume-worthy experiences
Ralko’s Western journey, built on the foundation of that random choice he made in his first year as a Bronco, has been defined by Experience-Driven Learning.
Joining the ranks of the Western Herald opened the door for him to carve out his own creative path in content creation. At the registered student organization (RSO), he revitalized video production. Within two years, he’d developed and managed a team of photographers and racked up recognition for his work at both the state and international levels.
“Being a part of that team gave me an avenue to create things and practice skills in video production and storytelling,” says Ralko, who ended his time with the Western Herald as the publication’s multimedia editor. “I learned things about myself, met outstanding people, created memories and created a body of work I will carry with me forever.”
The portfolio he built in the RSO helped Ralko secure a Broncos Lead internship with NowKalamazoo, an independent, nonprofit community news organization in town. Working as a videographer for the organization, he helped ramp up video storytelling and content creation.
“The Broncos Lead Internship Program helped shape me as a young professional, giving me real professional experience that was off campus and in an actual newsroom,” he says. “NowKalamazoo really let me lean into exploring what could be possible with video and seeing what ideas I could come up with.”
Broncos Lead internships are also paid positions, funded by the Empowering Futures Gift, which meant Ralko could focus on the experience without the added pressure of finding an outside job to pay the bills.
Ralko continued to build on his skills with a videography internship at Overneath, where he was immersed in every step of the production process—from supporting the camera department to assisting lead editors. His great work ultimately led to a full-time job offer.
Exploring filmmaking
Beyond professional work opportunities, Ralko also flexed his filmmaking muscles at Western. As a member of the Bronco Studios RSO, a student-run independent production company, he found a network of collaborators eager to explore the craft. He even won the RSO’s inaugural 24-hour film challenge with “A Fruitful Love,” a one-minute short film he created with fellow film, video and media studies major Ethan Jackson.
Ralko had a chance to explore documentary-style filmmaking in a digital video production course led by Dr. Lusike Mukhongo, associate professor of communication. In the class, which focused on community storytelling, Ralko and his classmates captured the stories of adults at the Ecumenical Senior Center. The videos were then screened by Public Media Network.
“I just kept getting opportunities to improve my work or build on my skills across the media field,” Ralko says. “Having so much support and also being surrounded by people who wanted to work on things the same way I did is something I will always be grateful for.”
A culmination of everything he soaked up while at Western, Ralko’s Lee Honors College thesis offered a final opportunity to demonstrate his production prowess. For his project, he wrote, edited and directed a short film titled “Pictures of Us.” The film, which he classifies as a coming-of-age romantic comedy, follows the story of a struggling photographer who, through a chance encounter, learns the importance of emotion and connection in his art.
“I would say it has a little bit of emotional truth from what I’ve learned throughout college,” he says. “The process involved taking everything I’ve learned and challenging it. It has been incredibly rewarding to produce a project that is the culmination of my time at WMU.”
Now, as the credits roll on this chapter of his career, he feels more prepared than ever to take the next step.
“Western set me up for success by challenging me,” he says. “There was real work and focus involved every step of the journey, and that has been invaluable to my character and determination moving forward.”
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