Paige Orr
ADA, Okla.-While she was a student, Paige Orr received an award that inspired a change in her choice of a dream career.
"My dream was to be on camera and make videos or be an ESPN sideline reporter, but I've realized I have a knack for being the one behind the camera," said Orr, who received a Heartland Emmy Award this year for her public service announcement for the Stillwater Public Library.
Orr of Frederick, Oklahoma, grew up with an adoration for the spotlight, singing in choir, acting in musicals and plays, and a particular fondness for doing sports broadcasting with her Chickasaw father, Vinson Orr.
Her father worked in radio. From a young age, she saw a future career for herself in sports media. In high school, she covered baseball, basketball and football as a sports broadcaster for KYBE 95.7 FM The Coyote, and she was the emcee for her school's pep rallies at Frederick High School.
In 2021, she began her collegiate career at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater. She is currently in her junior year, working on a double major in sports media and strategic communications.
During her sophomore year, she was assigned a public service announcement (PSA) project in her multimedia journalism class. The task was to promote the Stillwater library.
Orr got to work on the project. She directed, filmed and produced the PSA video, which won first place in the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association (OBEA) competition and earned her a Heartland Emmy Award.
The video begins with a girl reading a book in the library. As she opens the book, she is magically transported into the world of fiction as she reads.
The character opens "Where the Wild Things Are," and is transported into an adventurous forest scene filmed in a botanical garden. She opens "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and is taken to a whimsical schoolyard reminiscent of Harry Potter's Hogwarts.
"Funny enough, I was inspired by TikTok transitions because I wanted them to look smooth," Orr said. "Little did I know, my professor would be submitting my piece into the OBEA awards competition in Tulsa."
Professor Shane Hoffman submitted her PSA in the fall of 2022, and she heard the results in the beginning of 2023.
Also, to her surprise, professor Hoffman submitted her piece to the NATAS Heartland Chapter. It was late May 2023 when she heard the big news on a Zoom ceremony that she had won her first Emmy award.
Orr works for Inside OSU, a news association on her campus, where she has had the opportunity to create several other projects, both film and print. Her work can be viewed on her e-portfolio at PaigeOrr8.Wixsite.com/Paige-Orr.
She expressed how impressed she was with the quality of video she produced with an iPhone and an Amazon tripod but is excited to use better equipment later.
Her hopes for the future include potentially sideline reporting for sports teams or college athletic departments, or possibly going into graphic design and social media, which are newer interests of hers.
"I love the way my family raised me, having the Chickasaw community be a big part of my life," she said. "The encouragement the Chickasaw Nation has given me in education is something I am grateful for. I truly wouldn't be going to OSU if it weren't for the scholarships they've given me, which also encourages me to keep my grades up. I would like to repay them by giving back to the community."
Her Chickasaw grandparents, Joe and Brenda Orr, also kept culture at the center of her social life, attending reunions and festivals when they could. She also has several family members who work for the Chickasaw Nation.
"The support we get from our tribe is unbelievable. Even Governor Anoatubby shared the post about the Emmy award on social media. I feel so blessed and grateful."
Article Provided by the Chickasaw National Media Relations office (Chickasaw.net)
