After capturing the greatness of North Penn for three years, Jake Loburak is continuing to capture new achievements and successes following his high school journey at North Penn, doing so with a camera and a passion.

Most known as “the camera guy,”or “that guy from the morning show,”  the North Penn class of 2018 graduate shared a countless number of student and staff stories through his work on North Penn Television’s numerous sporting event broadcasts, televised student events, and live shows. The most famous of all the shows for Jake was the North Penn Friday morning show, “Mornings.”

 “At North Penn, I spent the majority of my time involved with North Penn Television. If someone couldn’t find me during the day, they knew to check the studio or editing space. I found myself most involved with Friday night football games and making the morning show. They were the highlights of the week. I remember Anissa Gardizy and I started our own pre-game show for the football team that year. We worked on hype videos, and we brought the team in and made each individual starter a graphic bug for when we announced the lineups on air. For me, being able to work those games as a broadcaster really put me on a path towards my future and just thinking about it brings back so many great memories,” said Loburak.

Not just a show, but a tradition aired every Friday morning from the NPTV studio, “Mornings” is a student-run live show with multiple segments, news packages, scripted stories and even live shots from different areas in the school: a 12-minute show, which takes a week of dedication, creativity, and even a little bit of working out to complete.

“I remember running around the building all the time trying to get different footage for the Mornings intro and focusing on incorporating as many different faces in the 30 seconds as we could,” stated Loburak.

After being behind the camera gathering footage of basketball games court side, theater productions on stage, and unique events in the hallways and classrooms of his school, it was time to flip the script and have Loburak in front of the camera. Loburak was given his well deserved opportunity to be recognized on the biggest stage of high school film and media production, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-Atlantic Chapter Awards.

“During my junior year, we received a few nominations, as we did for my senior year, but being able to win 3 Emmys in one year was truly the icing on the cake. NATAS is a tough competition in itself, but Mr. Gillmer, Mrs. Faikish, and Mr. Berger worked with us the entire year to get us to the point where we were recognized for our work. Winning 3 Emmys my senior year would have to be my greatest achievement at North Penn,” expressed Loburak.

It was in these NATAS Emmy trips that Jake did not only bring back some hardware on top of incredible experiences, but a platform to grow on with everything he had learned and gained from North Penn. He found a place to call home for the next four years of his life, Neumann University.

“I’m attending Neumann University and the story of how I got here is quite interesting. Neumann hosted the NATAS Emmy event during my junior year and that was the first time I was on campus. It was an amazing experience to hear from their Program Director, Sean McDonald, and to see their facilities. From that point, Neumann was always in the back of my mind but other schools on my list included Messiah College and Temple University. I got accepted to all three but really loved the atmosphere and values that Neumann continues to put forth. Ultimately, I toured the campus again on April 28, 2018 and April 30, 2018 I put down my deposit to attend, just hours before the May 1st deadline,”expressed Loburak.

Being the voice and face of North Penn Television was something Loburak was extremely passionate about, and this passion did not diminish after graduation. From the first day on campus at his new school, his passion for film and media production not only got better at the next level, it never left.

“At Neumann, I’ve been involved in our communications department since day one. I work on our news show, The Neumann Update, with the technical side. Similar to my work at North Penn, I help direct, technical direct, produce content, and pretty much anything that I can assist in doing. In addition, I’m also the sports director for Neumann media. With this role, I’m in charge of making crew lists for game coverage, overseeing live game productions, and lending help in producing sport talk shows. I also have a radio show at Neumann called Game Changers. For the show, I host different athletes from Neumann and we talk about what it’s like to be a Division 3 collegiate athlete. Beyond sports, news, and radio, I help produce a show called “Intern TV”, where 3 sport management majors host different students to talk about their internship experiences, and I also produce and host a brand new show called “Committed.” For this show, we talk to different students who have committed to Neumann about their decision-making process in choosing Neumann and choosing their major,” said Loburak.

The list of shows and segments Loburak finds himself involved in and in charge of is large. But when reflecting on what makes his job and work so incredible? For Loburak, it’s short and sweet.

“It’s ultimately about making the [new students] feel welcomed and get to know them before they walk onto campus as a student just as I was,” expressed Loburak.

As he embarks on taking his skills and experience gathered from his schooling to the real world of film and media production, a repertoire of internships off campus has also shed light on the bright future Loburak has in front of him.

“For the last two years, I’ve been working with Neumann media and WMMR during the Preston and Steve Show’s Campout for Hunger Food Drive every November. It’s the single largest food drive in the nation, and Neumann Media is the official video partner for WMMR. As well, over the last few months, I’ve had a freelance job in Seattle, WA and Atlanta, GA and these jobs for video production were incredible! It further exposed me to the industry and taught me so much. It was so rewarding because it reaffirmed all the hard work that I’ve been doing over the last few years,” stated Loburak.

As for the future, Loburak is pursuing to work in live news or sports production, whether radio or television. 

“All the work that I’ve done over the past few years at Neumann and North Penn has put me to this point and I gotta give props to Bob [Gillmer], Mary [Faikish], and Kyle [Berger] because they really set me on a path towards success,” concluded Loburak.

Favorite part about life after high school:

 My favorite part about life after high school is the opportunity to go away to school and make friendships that are going to last a lifetime. I’ve met some incredible people at Neumann and the students within the communication program are like family to me. In addition, all the communication professionals at Neumann have taught me so much about the industry and the major.

What do you miss about North Penn?

I definitely miss all the teachers from North Penn! Some of the teachers that I had made such an impact on me and I still remember certain classes like it was yesterday. On the flip side, I’ve had the opportunity to come back and work with the communications department. Having the ability to be able to see all of my former teachers again is always a great time. 

Advice to high school students:

Make the most out of your time at North Penn! Your 3 years go by quickly so make the most out of every moment you can. Also, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Even if you’re nervous, go to that club interest meeting or sit with someone else at lunch. You never know where a moment of expanding your bubble may lead you to.