In high school, whether dreaming under stars or sharing in sleepover circles, a yearning to belong is part of the timeless teenage trial. Many find this camaraderie through theater or sports, but few ever connect with every one of their classmates. It is only when something unique happens that everyone finds a way, regardless of clique or circumstance, to experience something as a whole for the entire world to see.
Every Fifteen Minutes (EFM) is a two-day program simulating a car accident, in collaboration with the Claremont Police and Fire Department, and funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety and California Highway Patrol. On the first day, Advanced Video Production (AVP) films a still-life, staged scene in which Claremont High School (CHS) EFM participants fill the roles of victims, perpetrators, and ‘walking dead.’ The participants are placed in the aftermath of a gruesome accident caused by an impaired driver on Indian Hill, as stunned juniors and seniors look on. The next day, during an assembly, upperclassmen watch the film and hear testimonies from participants in the program. While the program’s duration is a mere two days, the impact lasts a lifetime. The preparation begins months in advance—starting with EFM participants being selected and attending early-morning meetings led by CHS counselors Jeremy Troesh and Kristie Vogel, and with the hours spent planning the film and assembly, much of it unbeknownst to most.
Sara Hills, teacher of the Claremont Cinematic Arts Program, explained the various lengths that her AVP students took. “We begin planning in the fall by evaluating our past EFMs,” Hills said. “Then, there’s an application process for all production jobs. It’s a balancing act, creating the strongest collaboration possible while leaning into creative talents and technical skills.”
After finishing the script in early February, the AVP team filmed two six-hour days before the scheduled collision. Co-director Scarlette Sanders explained, “Being dedicated to the project took everything in me and in my amazing cast and crew,” Sanders said. “The project couldn’t be completed without their hard work and determination.”
The morning of the accident, February 25, the atmosphere was charged with adrenaline, as the counselors announced the eight EFM students in the car accident, and the crew members began loading props, applying makeup to the ‘walking dead,’ and assembling various camera equipment. Finally, standing on the curb of Indian Hill, the cameras started, and the countdown to the accident began.
A group of cinematographers followed Alexa Mowbray, the DUI perpetrator. The other group followed Zzyzx Cervantez, the EFM participant selected to die in the hospital, and the rest of the camera team stayed behind to document the harrowing scene of the collided cars.
The audience of upperclassmen fell silent amidst the participants’ piercing screams. Mowbray sat stunned in the driver’s seat, fake blood on her face as police officers pulled her over and performed tests. She was handcuffed and driven to jail, where further tests were conducted. “I will always remember my experience and the anxiety during the crash,” Mowbray said. “I will never forget what I learned about driving under the influence and the impact it has on people’s lives forever.”
AVP students followed the ambulance as it raced to the hospital, where nurses performed emergency protocols on Cervantez, who remained in “critical” condition. Cervantez detailed his experience. “It was pretty surreal,” Cervantez said. “You feel so into this happening that you just go with it and stay focused on it from the moment it starts at the car crash to when it ends.”
After the accident, the forty EFM participants lived as if they were dead without electronics, went to a gravesite and crematorium, and heard first-hand experiences of the impact of driving intoxicated.
Back at CHS, ten video production students set up their forts, getting prepared for an all-nighter to edit their final film. Azure Sanders, a co-lead editor, shares what happened in the overnight crew. “It was an absolutely crazy night,” Sanders said. “A lot was at stake. I didn’t leave the chair for 30+ hours, but it was worth it, because we were able to produce a movie that impacted CHS students.”
With so much chaos in a world that seems to inevitably separate people, it is refreshing to see such deep connections and collaborations among high school students. From the writers to the makeup artists to the actors who showed true vulnerability, every person made a difference in EFM 2026, and every second of this experience will have a lasting impact.
