By TIGER MEDIA NETWORK
Everyone wants a place to call “home,” but being able to use that term hasn’t been easy for some people in western Kansas.
Tiger Media Network’s documentary, “The Cost of a Dream,” explores housing concerns in Hays through the eyes of local residents, city officials and community leaders. TMN is the student-produced convergent media hub at Fort Hays State University.
Produced by TMN’s summer internship team of Kyson Evans, Katie Kuhlman and Taylor Thompson, the documentary sheds light on the challenges of finding affordable, family-friendly housing.
The film offers an in-depth look at how housing insecurity affects cities like Hays, contributing to a rise in housing instability and even homelessness for working families, single parents and vulnerable populations. It also examines potential solutions and efforts being made to address the issues.
“Coming from the capital city of Topeka, city development isn’t something you often think about — it just happens around you,” Evans said. “But in a smaller town like Hays, you really see how interconnected everything is. Everyone is part of a larger web, working toward the same goal. That kind of collaboration was something special and worth documenting.”
Working on the summer project gave the producers a new perspective on how deeply housing issues affect entire communities — not just individuals.
“This documentary is important to me because it helps bring awareness to the housing issues that often go unnoticed,” Thompson said. “By sharing these stories, we hope to start conversations and inspire real change in communities like Hays.”
Evans and Thompson had prior experience with documentary filmmaking from the Advanced Video course at FHSU, but this was the first project of this scale for the group.
“Overall, this was a one-of-a-kind experience that pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Kuhlman said. “It allowed me to try something completely new and explore a different direction in my career that I hadn’t considered before.”
“The Cost of a Dream” will premiere at 6 p.m. Aug. 7, on the Tiger Media Network YouTube channel.
The documentary is the third long-form feature produced by TMN summer interns during the last three summers.
“This year’s summer documentary is a bit different than the last two,” said Nick Schwien, director of Tiger Media Network. “This one is a bit more localized and focuses on an issue that is relevant to many in Hays. Through the roughly eight weeks of work, the students conducted multiple interviews and worked as a team in a real-world environment.
"Our ability to provide learning opportunities like these have helped students stand out in the job market when applying for employment after graduation. Kyson, Katie and Taylor took on a tough topic and worked hard to produce a quality product.”
Additional videos and information can be found on the documentary's website: https://www.thecostofadreamfilm.info/.
Kyson Evans is a senior from Topeka studying Information Networking and Telecommunications: Digital Media Production and Journalism.
Taylor Thompson is a senior from Leavenworth studying Information Networking and Telecommunications: Digital Media Production and Journalism.
Katie Kuhlman is a senior from Great Bend studying Applied Business Studies: Marketing.