Devon Carlson, a 17-year-old Shaunavon High School student will soon be rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars after winning a BlackBerry Messenger online challenge.
“It was just amazing,” Carlson said. “I’ve always wanted a career in acting, so to have the opportunity to actually go where all the stars live is pretty amazing. I couldn’t even describe how I felt after I got the news that I won.”
Carlson was one of six young people chosen as the grand prize winners of a Research In Motion BBM Challenge contest, which was designed to partner aspiring young adults with some of today’s top celebrity influencers.
Carlson first discovered the contest through a random search on Facebook, and thought the challenge was exactly the kind of project he wanted to get involved with.

The contest was centered around the BBM Challenge Council - a group of high achieving celebrity influencers who represent the accomplishments derived from talent, hard work and the spirit to succeed. There were different council members representing each of six different categories in the competition - fashion, music, film, sports, popular culture and entrepreneurship.
Participants were initially invited to join the contest by submitting a video or photo and essay telling the relevant BBM Challenge Council member why they should be picked as one of the protégés.
Ultimately, Carlson was selected as one of 25protégés in his category (film) - from 238 applicants - and he was matched with his BBM Challenge Council member, Michelle Trachtenberg.
Trachtenberg, a film and television actress, is perhaps best known for her role as Buffy’s sister Dawn from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” series.
Carlson, as one of the protégé finalists, also received a new BlackBerry 7 smartphone. He was able to use the device to communicate directly with Trachtenberg, who provided support, advice and encouragement during the intense eight-week challenge that followed.
The BBM Challenge Council members issued four separate challenges to their protégés over an eight-week period.
Challenges ranged from pitching an idea for a business to raising money for charity.
Participants utilized a variety of social applications for BlackBerry smartphones during the process. Protégés used their BlackBerry smartphone to document their entries, collaborate with their teams using BBM (Blackberry Messenger), and tap their social networks to garner support as they competed for the attention of their council member.
Contestants in each category were competing for the opportunity to meet their idols in person.
Devon’s first task was to make a video of himself reviewing a movie, while another challenge saw him doing a story on Shaunavon High School secretary/receptionist Mrs. Fritz.
Another of his submissions was a public service announcement for the Canadian Cancer Society.
“Cancer has touched my family a lot,” said Carlson. “It’s something very personal to me and I know it affects everyone in some way throughout their whole life. I think it’s such an important thing to be educated about and it’s always been very important to me.”
Each video took approximately one day to film and another to edit.
“It took a lot of time actually and you were only given a short amount of time to get it done,” he said “For example, they would release challenges on a Saturday and you had to have it up by about Friday. And they also wanted you to hand it in two days early in case there were technical problems.”
Carlson’s hard work paid off as he was notified last week that he was a winning finalist and that he would get to travel to Hollywood to meet Trachtenberg.
Carlson benefitted from the assistance of a large team of friends and family members who helped film and acted in each of the four short videos.
“I really have to thank everyone who helped me with the challenge,” said Carlson. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them - they were terrific.”
Although he hasn’t been given a specific date yet as to when he will be traveling to Hollywood, he is certainly looking forward to getting there.
“It’s amazing to think that I’ll actually be seeing someone in person who I’ve seen in movies,” he said.
Carlson says he plans to ask Trachtenberg everything about the movie and film industry once they meet.
“I want to ask about all the ins and outs of the business, how she got into it and what it’s like,” he said. “I think it will be really interesting.”
Although he has a keen interest in the film industry, Carlson understands that getting into the business isn’t an easy process and he has other professional aspirations to fall back on.
He was recently accepted for admission to Medicine Hat College in the faculty of Nursing, and plans to pursue a career in the health field this fall.
Carlson admits, however, that he would someday like to break into acting.
“My first priority at the moment is to have a stable career,” he stated.  “At this point, I’m just looking forward to going to Hollywood and see what happens from there.”