Before heading out to a movie, you might want to ask Lima Senior High School Senior Janel Roach what she thinks about your choice.
The future film director has strong opinions on what makes a good or bad movie. She’ll likely point you in the direction of a horror film and never a romantic comedy.
“I go to movies a lot,” she said. “I have always loved to critique films.”
Most interested in horror and action thrillers, Janel pays close attention to things like whether the plot makes sense and is interesting, does the film drag and do the actors mesh well together.
Headed to possibly Bowling Green State University, Wright State University or Ohio University, Janel is set on one day directing her own great horror or supernatural horror film.
“You can control how a film comes out,” she said of why she wants to direct. “You can tell the story the way you see it. You can control how everyone comes together to make the film.”
The daughter of Dana Ingram has already gotten a good start. She attended the Heartland Image Foundation’s three-week Student Integrated Arts Filmmaker Bootcamp last summer.
She and other students produced public service commercials for area service clubs. Janel worked on several, but is most proud of the spot for the Lima Kiwanis Club. She did all of the editing for it. The commercials are airing on local television now.
Janel also recently worked on a promotional video for the Lima Senior Marching Pride.
A 3.7 grade-point student, Janel is very involved with music. She began to take singing seriously in the eighth grade.
“I saw other people singing in choirs and they seemed to enjoy it, so I decided I wanted to try,” she said. “It is just fun.”
She sings in Lima Senior’s Scarlet and Gray Show Choir, Masterworks Ensemble, Spartaniares and the Spartettes. She recently took part in Ohio Northern University’s Choral Day. Selected by teachers, students spend the day rehearsing and then perform.
Janel also plays the clarinet in the Spartan Marching Pride and symphonic band, and the bass guitar in the jazz and pep bands.
While she takes Lima Senior’s guitar class and has played the traditional guitar for some time, the bass guitar is new for Janel. She started this past September.
“I always wanted to play, so since this is my last year I just decided I would learn it,” she said. “It is a cool instrument. Everyone plays the guitar, but a bass has cooler rifts.”
Janel takes early bird music classes and often has rehearsals after school. She says it is worth it and wants to continue with both vocal and instrumental music in college.
She’s thankful for the music and other class offerings she’s had at Lima Senior.
“I have had a lot of opportunities that most students at other schools don’t have,” she said. “When I tell people I’ve had classes like guitar and the Holocaust, I’ve had kids from other schools say ‘I wish I had that.’”