Shepherd Graduate wins best new director at the Sundance Film Festival

Inspiration can be found anywhere; even in the small, quirky, historic streets of Shepherdstown, W.Va. Samantha Goodgrades, a graduate of Shepherd University, found just that.

With courses such as studio production, single camera production, history of film, and many more, students of Shepherd University have harnessed their creativity behind a camera.

A former communications major, Samantha learned the skills necessary to direct her own indie film.

Based on Shepherdstown, Samantha's film is a romantic comedy about two people who go to school at a liberal arts college in a quirky, coffee-shop infested town.

This film won Samantha Goodgrades the "best new director" award at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Everyone has to start somewhere and from there, they can only go up. Samantha chose the mass communications department at Shepherd University.