Projects Overview

AN END OF AN ERA

Within the last couple decades, print media has been slowly dying and the multi-media digital world is taking over. With the digital consumption of news, the newspapers are getting harder and harder to exist and distribute. For over thirty years my father, Thomas Rowlen, has been in his own self-employed newspaper company called Publishers Distribution Network based in the city of Chicago. Growing up, I always figured it was a sense of routine as well that my father slept all day and during the night he’d have to wake up and go about his work patterns just like anyone else. He has been apart of the infrastructure of the newspaper distribution for over such a long period of time. What my father has done with his life has been a part of the Chicago community as long as I can remember. Now the industry has crumbled, there are empty route boxes and a few distributions left and what I wanted to portray was an end of an era. 

Traumatic Brain Injury

As a vibrant and charismatic 19-year-old College freshman, Michael is one of those few standout people who made friends, worked hard at all that he attempted, loved life and enjoyed what it has to offer. Born and raised in Addison, Illinois, a suburb just west of Chicago, Mike and his older brother, Nick, have developed strong friendships. Michael is an enthusiastic sports fan and top-notch athlete. His parents, Pete and Debbie, are loving and devoted parents, that taught Michael the values of being loyal, caring, family oriented and dedicated. 

During his summer break from Illinois State University, Michael's life tragically changed. While riding home from work with a friend, an unexplainable auto accident occured on July 8, 2009 at 3:37 p.m on the southbound Route 83 between Washington Street and Riverside Drive. An SUV and a mini van collided and ever since, it left Michael clinging to life and suffering from traumatic brain injury. Throughout a long and arduous process, Michael has continued to improve and his recovery has suprised even his doctors, but he has a long road ahead of him. It's hard to imagine the ordeal that his family is living through day to day. Hope and faith are the only things that have kept the DeStefanos going when there are no medical answers to their many questions. 

I have taken part in documenting the DeStefano family and want to bring new awareness to traumatic brain injuries. Not just with Michael, but to all that can relate to this as well. I want people to see that you can take a bad situation and still have hope for things to get better. The overall goal of the documentary is to provide advocacy for families who have suffered many hardships as a result of a family memeber who has traumatic brain injuries. It has also been my pleasure to bring that awareness to readers.