ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Blake Webster ’98
Blake Webster, Class of 1998, is a self-proclaimed lucky man, splitting time between his home state and the sunshine state where he directs and produces Carpool Karaoke. Just this last year, Blake snagged an Emmy for Best Outstanding Short Form Variety Series for Carpool, and got to do so from the comfort of home in Independence, KS, with his wife Laurel and their three children. Blake and his family had been living in Los Angeles since 2003, but decided in 2017 to relocate to Independence to be closer to family. “Some of my colleagues probably thought I was insane. After the pandemic hit, maybe it wasn’t so crazy,” Blake shared. They still have an apartment in LA, where Blake stays when he heads back out to California for work. Blake appreciates his roots in Kansas and gives credit to Collegiate for inspiring him in his professional endeavors. “If it weren’t for Gary Buettgenbach and WCS, I never would have ended up
where I did. I cannot tell you how much I believe that. When I was at Collegiate, I was lucky to be in Gary’s class when a brand-new Avid video editing system arrived, and a group of us THRIVED with that new technology and started the Video Magazine tradition that would lead me to a life of film and comedy.” “I remember ALL the teachers playing along, putting on a wig for a sketch or allowing me to stay and edit until 2:00 a.m. if needed. I’ll NEVER forget the thrill of the entire Upper School filing into the auditorium to watch what a small group of us had worked so hard on - it was like getting my own movie premiere! To this day, I still go back and look at those video mags. When I won the Emmy this last year, one of my very first thoughts was, ‘Thank you, Gary B!’ I’m a lucky man!” We feel lucky to have Blake as a member of our Wichita Collegiate community. Thank you, Blake, for sharing your story and love of WCS with us! If you want to follow Blake on his adventures, check him out on Instagram at @websterblake and watch Carpool Karaoke on Apple TV.
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