After being selected as one of only five winners out of 115 entries for the Region 7 Spring Showcase Photo Contest, sophomore Layton Ekwuruke was approached by Chris Scott regarding a paid summer photography internship in Las Vegas. Ekwuruke is an action photographer for the ‘Capture Me Chapel Hill’ staff under the direction of teacher Jessica Otte.

“I really wanted to do photography all my life and I knew the Commercial Photography class would allow me to explore that,” Ekwuruke said. “Earning an award for my sports photography has opened doors for my work.”

Scott visited Dallas where he saw Ekwuruke shooting a local wedding and he offered him the position after they had a discussion about photography. Scott plans to fly Ekwuruke to Vegas Tuesday, May 25th for photo opportunities as he films his latest Netflix documentary.

“This young man is talented and will be working with me on all my shoots this summer,” said Scott. “Chapel Hill gave me my opportunities, I’m honored to give back.”

Scott is a Chapel Hill alumni and the Co-Founder/Head of Documentaries for Strategery Films. In 2015, he founded Strategery Films which specializes in documentary films. His 2015 series, The Shape of Shreveport, was awarded Documentary of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in 2016. His 2017 series, What About Waco, was awarded the Grand Jury Prize of the Deep in The Heart of Texas Film Festival.

The Baylor film will be about the rise and fall of the history of Baylor Basketball following his former “Class Action Park” which has been featured in the New York Times and is one of the top streaming programs on HBO Max.

“I’m very excited to go on this trip for Mr. Scott’s project,” Ekwuruke said. “I hope to learn a lot from him and from this experience which will further my journey in photography.”