Alumni Spotlight: GHS Grad Takes CTE Knowledge to the College Football Field
When Cooper Deel signed up for Principles of Audio and Video Technology (A/V technology) as a Georgetown High School (GHS) freshman, he didn’t expect it to lead him to his dream career.
“When I first started the A/V program, I really didn’t like the course that much,” said Deel. “It was a rigorous level of work I hadn’t been exposed to, and it didn’t feel like it was my thing yet.”
Fast forward to his sophomore year at Texas State, and Deel is now the lead videographer for the school’s football program. A team of primarily Texas State students, Deel and his peers produce content for the program, including recaps of games, “hype” videos, jersey reveals, social media content and more.
“We get to travel a lot with the team which is pretty cool,” said Deel. “It’s all about being there to capture the content, create something cool, and share it with the fans.”
If the goal is to reach – and gain – Texas State football fans, numbers show that Deel and his peers are nailing it.
“When I got here my freshman year, the Texas State football Instagram account had 40,000 followers,” Deel said. “If you look at that number today, it's nearly 60,000.”
So, if high-school-freshman-year Deel “really didn’t like” A/V technology, how did college-sophomore-year Deel end up in a job centered around A/V?
“I gave A/V technology another shot my sophomore year, which led me to cover sports for an assignment,” said Deel. “I was filming a football game and realized how much I enjoyed the excitement, being around the players…all that stuff you get in a sports environment.”
So Deel shifted his focus to sports videography and would continue on his Career and Technical Education (CTE) A/V technology pathway for the remainder of high school. By junior year, he was working for VAR Austin, a visual production collective that covers high school sports. And by senior year, he was doing freelance videography.
Deel noted the support he got from GISD A/V Instructor Craig Jaris, who would give frequent and meaningful feedback on all of his projects.
“As a teacher, it is incredibly rewarding to see students mature and become their own powerhouse of knowledge and expertise out in the world,” said Jaris. “I sincerely believe opportunities are limitless when students are committed to a pathway that they embrace, and Cooper is a great example.”
Deel credits much of his success to a few key people: Jaris, GHS Journalism Teacher Theresa Fisher, and an upperclassman named Semien.
“Semien was a great mentor who ended up working for UNT football after he graduated,” said Deel. “I didn’t really know that was possible. It opened my eyes and I knew it was something I wanted to do.”
As soon as Deel got into Texas State, he reached out to the football program’s creative team and pitched himself, stating how much he would love to be a part of their team. They looked over his freelance work, got a feel for his skill level, and offered him the job.
“I’m only a sophomore, and this opportunity has taken me in a way I didn’t expect it to,” said Deel. “Before A/V technology, I was sure I wanted to be a sports broadcaster. But if this takes me somewhere else, I’m just going to go with it.”
You can check out Deel’s portfolio at https://coopdeel.myportfolio.com/work.
You can find Texas State Football on Instagram at @txstatefootball.
