User:Shegaw89


 * "Mekonen" redirects here. For other uses, see Mekonnen.

Shegaw Mekonen
Shegaw Mekonen (pronounced /sheh-gow, born March 15, 1989) is an American economist, photographer and internet contributor. He is best known for his work in freelance photography and video production.

Early Life
Mekonen was born in Northwest, Washington, D.C. then moved to Beltsville, Maryland at age 5. He was the first of his family to be born in the United States. Both of his parents are of Ethiopian descent. As a child he was raised by his mother, father and grandmother. Mekonen attended High Point High School in Beltsville, Maryland, and graduated in 2007. He went on to attend the University of Maryland, College Park where he majored in economics.

Personal Life
Little was known about Mekonen's personal life.

Early Career
Mekonen, the son of a notable photographer, was exposed to media production at an early age. He began his formal training in the field by apprenticing for his father (Mekonen Zewdie) at the age of 14. During this time, he became adept in techniques of both photography and cinematography. While honing his skills, Mekonen taught himself the tenants of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Shegaw would also take this time to participate in the multimedia production classes afforded to him by his high school. These courses included, but were not limited to television production and computer graphics.

2007-2011
While enrolled in college, Mekonen became a frequently acquired media presence at several collegiate events. Utilizing the resources available and contacts at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, Mekonen also mastered Final Cut Pro and Adobe After Effects. During his enrollment, Mekonen got his first publicly displayed production at the University of Maryland College Park's 2009 homecoming in the form of a highlight reel.

In addition to shooting video packages of events such as the university's homecoming, block show and annual all-nighter events, Mekonen tried his hand in freelance. He went on to shoot potential promotional photographs for the university outside of formal request. Several of his works would later purchased and published for purposes including marketing and journalistic illustration. On September 17, 2009, Mekonen took his most notable photograph to date on the day of a campus visit by President of the United States Barack Obama. The photograph captured the image of a banner which parodied the outburst of Kanye West to Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me". The banner reads, "Thanks Obama, and Imma let you finish, but Canada had the best health care of all time". The photograph was uploaded to Mekonen's Imgur account and Facebook page. It was later circulated and re-posted to several other aggregating websites including Digg, Reddit and the Huffington Post. Mekonen is uncredited in the distribution of this photograph.

Mekonen's freelance abilities were frequented by several fraternities and sororities located on the University of Maryland, College Park. Between the years of 2008 and 2010, Mekonen covered probates for organizations including Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Incorporated, Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated and Alpha Theta Gamma Multiculture Sorority, Incorporated. In addition to probates, Mekonen also produced promotional videos for the North Atlantic regional conference of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and filmed the introductory video for Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated's Theta Theta chapter for competitive step performances.