Frank Capra was young once, and Steven Spielberg had to get his start somewhere.

Capra, as film buffs know, directed some of the most popular Hollywood movies of the 1930s and 1940s, including It’s a Wonderful Life, which was named one of the best films ever made by the American Film Institute. During World War II, Capra produced and directed or co-directed several documentaries, including the award-winning Why We Fight series.

Spielberg, of course, is a director, screenwriter and producer who has made some of the most popular films of modern times, including the Academy Award-winning Schindler’s List.

Both men are numbered among the most creative talents of their respective eras in what many consider to be the most influential industry in the world. And both men earned accolades for social commentary.

Well, who can say that we won’t someday be purchasing a ticket at the local movie theater to view the latest work by Katie Carr, Lauren Kruse, Elisa Martinez, Katrina Garcia and Jessica Solis?

In case you missed our story in Thursday’s edition, these five Denton High School students were invited to present their films at the Free Minds, Free People National Conference. The students were scheduled to discuss their experiences in research, media and storytelling at the conference, which runs through Sunday in Houston.

The Free Minds, Free People conference, as its name implies, is about education for liberation. The conference brings together teachers, high school and college students, researchers, parents and community-based activists/educators from across the country. The goal is to provide a forum for sharing knowledge, experiences and strategies to help students understand some of the challenges facing their communities.

The five Denton High School students are participants in the PALS — Peer Assistance, Leadership and Service — program, and we think this opportunity is quite an accomplishment for them, their teachers and the school.

A lot of people talk about change, but too few of us actually do much about it. These students, with the proper encouragement, could eventually take their places in the vanguard of a new wave of creative young people who are committed to using their talents to improve understanding and shape positive social programs.

The story of their success had its beginnings in 2007, when one student attended a digital storytelling workshop. This led to the digital storytelling component of the PALS class at Denton High.

Tim Sanchez teaches the class and co-directs the project with Mariela Nunez-Janes, a professor of anthropology at the University of North Texas. Shaun Chapa, a UNT graduate student, helps with the class.

This year, 17 students worked on films, and most focused on family experiences. Prior to crafting their videos, the students participated in a story circle during a PALS class and learned that they shared many common experiences. Some of those experiences, no doubt, ended up in the student videos, and now they will be shared with others.

“It’s amazing what we get to share with other people, because they probably feel the same way you feel, and you get to see how you are not alone and the only one struggling,” one of the students told us.

We think that statement says it all. This is truly common ground, for all ages. Who hasn’t felt alone at one time or another? Who hasn’t struggled?

We need to find common ground if we are to weather the challenges that confront our nation. We need to seek solutions, to work together for positive change.

These young people could be showing us how to do that. We can’t wait to see what they accomplish next.