Samo alum returns to research upcoming documentary

As the college acceptance and rejection letters trickle in to anxious seniors, questions of “Where do we go from here?” inevitably arise. Although not getting into Harvard may seem like life’s end, it’s not — and Rose Bloomfield is here to prove it.Bloomfield, who graduated Samo with the class of 2005, returned to her alma mater last month to begin work on her documentary about life after high school.The documentary, temporarily titled “Stepping Out of Line,” explores the many different paths a person may take after graduating high school — alternatives to the traditional high-school-to-college-to-work path so often presented as a student’s only post-graduation option.“The aim is to show there are infinite ways to brilliant success and that success is a relative notion,” Bloomfield said.The documentary asks students of all ages what the next chapter of their lives may be. There is particular emphasis on students currently in high school and college who are experiencing the normal challenges and glories of transition and initiation into independence and adulthood.“It briefly sums up the old system — structure, lines, standardization — and presents a different perspective on prosperity: simplicity, integrity, community, passion,” Bloomfield said.Bloomfield’s aim is to enlighten and guide students by answering their most confounding questions. What makes her documentary so powerful is that Bloomfield has her own deep connection to students’ confusion: she dropped out of University of California, Santa Cruz after her first quarter because, to put it simply, she wasn’t happy.“I felt depressed, isolated, uninspired, lonely and uninterested in paying thousands of dollars to maybe get through it alive,” Bloomfield said. “I didn’t want to be there. I wanted to travel, to learn what I wanted to do, to study. I didn’t know what I didn’t know yet. I needed a taste of my own naiveté to set off the hunger to learn.”Bloomfield was on a quest. Though she was confused about what to do with her own life, she was determined to set an example. Bloomfield took the opportunity to put her creativity and passion to use, taking charge of her life by starting work on “Stepping Out of Line.”Samo was the first school Bloomfield visited for the project. She spent all day on Feb. 2 speaking to students in all five of Karin Korvin’s French II and French Ideas classes.“Rose was my student for two years in French II and AP French. She was one of my most enthusiastic, dedicated and creative students,” Korvin said. “I’m not surprised that she would turn her experience into a personal quest for truth and a unique documentary, and I am thrilled that she wanted to come back to Samo.”Bloomfield, who says she loved her experience at Samo as a student, was inspired to begin her work here because of the school’s diverse student demographic.“I went to Samo [because] I know it is filled with many levels of diversity: ethnically, economically, religiously. It’s a laboratory of cultural perspectives and unique voices of experience,” Bloomfield said.Bloomfield’s ultimate goal was to play, create and spread the word that the world is different today, which means different options and a variety of choices for the future.“There is no one way. There is no ‘right’ way,” Bloomfield said. “The world has changed; a lot of our education system is failing to prepare us practically to thrive in the current world. The goal here is to invite each viewer into living an authentic life, bushwhacking his or her own trail of success by knowing the options. For after high school: community college, volunteering, the gap year, self-awareness, service, work and intern or go to a university. For after college … now what?”Nicholas ZarchenStaff Writernzarchen@thesamohi.com