CLASS OF 2021

Featuring Orion Spatafora

Remarkable! Resilient! Revolutionary!

My name is Orion Spatafora, I am 17 years old, and I attend John Burroughs High School.

If you have an artistic passion, through what artistic medium(s) do you most like to use to express yourself? Dance, pottery, theatre, instrumental music, culinary arts, filmmaker, vocal music, production design, etc.?
I consider myself an accomplished leader and attribute this characteristic with my prominent skills of entrepreneurship, strategy, and determination. I developed an interest in film and founded the school’s Film Club my sophomore year at John Burroughs High School. As the club president, I founded and organized the school’s first ever student film festival. I established partnerships with New York Film academy and Universal Studios. I also launched the Film Club’s guest speaker series and exercised my unrelenting persistence when reaching out for award-winning directors, producers, and writers to speak on careers in the industry and discuss their creative journeys. My guests included Ron Howard, a John Burroughs alumni, Tom Nunan, Academy Award winner for the movie “Crash,” David Berenbaum, the writer of “Elf,” Karen Lunder, the president of Imagine Features, Mark Helfrich, the editor of “Jumanji: The Next Level,” and many more.


Describe your first experience with the arts while in the Burbank Unified Schools?
My first experience with the arts was John Burroughs’ drama program. I requested to take American Sign Language as a fine art, but was mistakenly placed in drama when the class was full. Though unhappy with the circumstance at the time, this class sparked my long term passion for the arts. That year I took classes at Groundlings Improv Club and the Young Actors Studio in North Hollywood. I wrote, directed, and acted in several performances which developed my appreciation for filmmaking. This experience led to founding the John Burroughs Film Club my sophomore year. 

What advice do you have for younger students?
If I could give one piece of advice to younger students it’s the explanation of why knowledge is power. The phrase “knowledge is power” has always been around and seemed like another stereotypical attempt to motivate young scholars. By the time I reached my senior year of high school, I finally understood the phrase. Intelligence helps more than just academic aspects of life. The things I learned from school benefitted the results of my life decisions. However, the experience and knowledge I gained from failures was more beneficial. I would like to tell younger students never fear failure because without taking risks it is impossible to grow. The knowledge I gained from failure made me more powerful than the experiences of success. 

Was there a moment when you realized that you as one person could affect change? If so, describe that experience and what you hope to do with it.
During the second semester of my freshman year at John Burroughs, three of my 9th grade peers committed suicide within the span of one month. One of them was my close childhood friend who lived down the street. This was the first time I faced the challenge of processing grief as I was lost without direction. The following semester, I founded John Burroughs first ever student film festival in partnership with the New York Film Academy. My contribution to this festival was a project I presented through my experiences of coping with grief and learning to appreciate life. I received gratitude from viewers of my film and was selected as the winner of the festival by NYFA judges. I realized this process did not only benefit myself but my classmates struggling with grief as well. At this moment, I realized the capabilities I possessed to affect change in the daily lives of my peers. 


What is the most important thing you’ve learned during the pivotal, history-making pandemic?
The most important thing I have learned from the effects of COVID19 is never take privileges for granted. Before the start of quarantine I lacked motivation and passion, but after the loss of daily blessings, I began to appreciate my opportunities more than ever. I began reading and writing much more often. I exercised my creativity through several outlets such as storytelling, public speaking, acting, and more. I also began hiking, biking, running, and swimming more often which gave me a greater appreciation for life. I only wish I developed an understanding of my blessings before they were taken away from me.

JOIN US to celebrate the REMARKABLE, RESILIENT, and REVOLUTIONARY Class of 2021. Donate today to support their legacy for future students.