By Amy Fouraker
An event can alter a lifetime of dreams and open doors for new opportunities. Orion Christy, 26, has transitioned his career goals to a different form of media due to a near death accident.
Christy received his degree from Full Sail University in Orlando, FL in 2003. He then worked freelance on different projects for a year as an assistant camera man. Due to the lack of film industry in Florida, Christy decided to move to Los Angeles, CA where there are more opportunities. His plans were put on hold due to a tragic accident.
April 2, 2006, two weeks before his 21st birthday, while driving on Highbridge Road, Christy swerved and then over corrected his vehicle which resulted in him driving off of the road. He hit a tree and partially submerged his vehicle in a canal. Fortunately, a passerby noticed the taillights of his vehicle in the water and called the police. Once help arrived, he was pulled from the wreckage and airlifted by helicopter to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach where he was classified as a near drowning victim. Upon arriving at the hospital, Christy was put in a drug induced coma to help his body recover from the trauma he had endured. A month later he woke up.
“Initially the doctors told my parents I wouldn’t be able to feed myself, dress myself, walk or talk ever again,” he said. Christy was talking and walking within a month of the accident. He then went to a rehabilitation facility in Jacksonville, FL where he continued to astonish medical practitioners and family alike with his remarkable recovery. Christy credits his recovery to the excellence of the rehabilitation center and his tenacity.
Once he had significantly improved, Christy decided he wanted to undergo an “exogenesis” which he said is a reworking of everything from the inside. He moved back home to Flagler county and decided that video journalism was his new passion. Despite having extensive camera experience, Christy had never formally been educated in journalism. He enrolled at Daytona State College to take journalism classes to develop his writing skills. Christy recognized the significant differences between film and video journalism.
“Film is set up sometimes years in advance. It is a very slow and steady execution. Everything has to be exactly right,” he said. “Whereas in journalism, things are how they are.”
Due to the advances in technology and the internet, video journalism can be thought of as the future of media. “It’s very realistic nowadays. We are transitioning to where everything is online. Newspapers and magazines are going away, so online is a perfect source for media,” he said.
Christy currently writes for an online based newspaper called Examiner.com which is based in Colorado. The company offers ideas and its writers have to take the initiative to find and cover the stories. Christy was hired after submitting written samples of his work. He believes that this is a good way to introduce himself to the world of journalism. Christy has written multiple car and music related stories for the publication and has a following of 1,000 people.
“It gives me the ability to share my ideas and revelations and hopefully people will agree and want to read more,” he said.
Christy is also currently working a book based on the events that have happened in his life. The book is in the rough draft stage and he hopes for it to be published on the anniversary of his accident next year.
Orion Christy’s published articles can be read at http://www.examiner.com/autos-ingainesville/orion-christy and http://www.examiner.com/music-in-orlando/orionchristy.