University Park, Pa. -- During her sophomore year at Penn State, Amy Wojton, a film and Spanish major from Norristown, Pa., made her first documentary about a friend she met her freshman year of college.
Wojton's assignment for her filmmaking class was to create a piece about someone who worked in State College. While classmates were busy hunting for jugglers and bartenders to interview, Wojton got to thinking about Katy Grub, the on-campus housekeeper on Wojton's floor in Hastings Hall. She was always kind and friendly to the girls living in the residence hall. Wojton thought Grub would be a unique subject but had no idea how great an interview it would become.
"Katy really surprised me during the filming," Wojton said. "She made me realize there are amazing people with amazing stories everywhere."
Wojton said her original plans were to focus on how much the students respected Grub and how Grub was a part of their home away from home. But Grub, who was normally very quiet, began to open up in front of the camera.
"She completely took what I was going for and made it so much better," Wojton said. "She talked about her hopes of one day working at Penn State, even though she had no education and couldn't tell time. She wanted to show her kids that you can do anything."
Grub's nerves may have been bothering her during the shooting of the film -- she said she kept bumping into things while Wojton was filming -- but her candidness about her hopes and faith and her ability to prevail in difficult situations were touching to the student filmmaker.
At first, Grub admitted, she wasn't overly fond of the idea of going on camera and talking about her life. She had just lost her husband and was trying to deal with the pain of being alone. For some reason, though, she decided to help Wojton with her film. A very devout woman, Grub said she felt God intended for her to do the documentary.
"Amy was just so patient and understanding," said Grub. "I'm normally a shy woman but I could open up to her. I know I was meant to do this -- it really helped me get over my sadness. And I just love Amy. I know she'll be my friend for the rest of my life. She's just like family."
While Wojton and Grub both enjoyed making the film and have remained good friends, neither had any idea how many people in the Penn State community would appreciate it.
Wojton's classmates wanted to meet Grub after hearing her story. Grub's sons cried while watching the film and one even made copies and passed them on to his boss at Penn State. Employees in Penn State's Housing and Food Services received a copy of it and called Wojton, asking if they could show the documentary at a conference to be attended by a couple hundred people. Then last year, both Wojton and Grub were invited to attend a Penn State Board of Trustees meeting, where the film was shown and both women were recognized by University President Graham Spanier.
"It was a really great response, and I still can't believe how much it was passed around," said Wojton.
Although it was Wojton's first film and she said there were many technical changes and additions she would probably make to the documentary today, she still shows it when applying for internships to illustrate how powerful a story can be.
Wojton credits Grub's strength and courage for the success of the film, while Grub credits Wojton's intelligence, patience and friendliness for getting her to open up to make the film.
To view Wojton's film of Grub, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvKw2RhVXJI online.