FHS Alum Wins National NATAS Award

Published February 6, 2024

A Franklin High Class of 2023 graduate is earning accolades from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) National Student Production Awards.

FHS alum Ethan Whitfield won Best Writer for his video, Finding Waldo. The FHS TV/Film teacher is Keri Thompson.

"I just want to say thank you to FHS for lending me the resources that allowed me to tell this story," said Ethan. "I also want to thank Mrs. Thompson, my film teacher for four years, who helped me develop the skills I needed to tell all the stories I wanted to tell. I never believed I'd be here, but I'm so happy that Finding Waldo made it to where it is today."

The winners were announced Thursday, February 1. This year's submissions were selected from more than 2,000 entries from the regional NATAS chapters. Nominees were chosen from high school student entries in 24 programming and craft categories.

"Seeing your students succeed at this national level is such a gratifying moment," said Thompson. "I'm so proud of Ethan. This is a true testament to his talent and hard work. Ethan is well-known at FHS for his strong character and abilities, and you could hear the screams down the hall when he was announced as the winner. They are so happy for him."