Brantmeyer hopes to empower youth

Brantmeyer hopes to empower youth
November 2, 2009
Reyna Desai
Senior Writer

Carly Brantmeyer, a photojournalism major from Charlotte, was inspired by her love for photography and children to run for Homecoming queen.

If she wins, Brantmeyer will fund her project PhotoTEACH, a weekly photography class for children from low-income families.

“I think this project is set apart from others because it has already been developed and is sustainable and just needs further funding,” she said.

Brantmeyer, a senior, had never left the country before she attended UNC, her dream school since 5th grade.

And when she had the chance to study abroad to Ghana, Africa, in fall 2008, she brought PhotoTEACH with her.

The project was initially funded with around $500 that Brantmeyer raised through donations from her family and friends. She purchased simple film cameras, which she used to teach eight children from the slums of Nima, Ghana.

After returning from Ghana she expanded her project to teach children in Durham at The Salvation Army.

“I now want to extend it to Carrboro and the Chapel Hill communities,” she said of PhotoTEACH. “It’s not just about me and my project. I want everyone at Carolina to be a part of it.”

She hopes PhotoTEACH will continue even after she graduates.

The cameras used currently are loaned by the School of Mass Communication and Journalism, and she hopes added funding would pay for more equipment.

Brantmeyer said the children she’s taught in Ghana and Durham had never interacted with cameras and that their pictures provided them with a way of telling their story and perspective.

“It was a life-changing experience. They were overjoyed,” she said.

Brantmeyer is a member of the Phi Beta Chi sorority, a senior marshal and the senior class photographer.

She is also the campus representative for Mocha Club, an national organization that funds relief and development projects in Africa.

Brantmeyer has been a member of UNC Dance Marathon — the fundraiser for N.C. Children’s Hospital ­­— for four years, an experience she said she will cherish forever.

“I feel I embody the Carolina tradition of service, leadership and scholarship through the experiences I’ve had here,” she said.