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Born in Indianapolis,
Indiana, Blair Karsch has become a visible and remembered personality among school-age youth.
Karsch attended North Central High School in Indianapolis and graduated
in 1976. During his time at North Central, he participated in many extra-curricular
activities including student council and tennis, which he still plays
today. Karsch also graduated from a class that included national recording
artist Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and astronaut David Wolf.
After high school,
Blair went on to Indiana University in Bloomington. While there, he earned
degrees in political science, psychology, and a minor in telecommunications.
After graduating from Indiana University in the summer of 1980, Blair
moved to California to pursue a dream in show business.
While in California,
he worked as an extra in such shows as: A-Team, Cheers,
Dynasty, Hotel, and The Love Boat. He also had a
small part in Fatal Pulse. Inspired by TV personality Art Linkletter,
Blair decided that the life of an extra just wasn't for him.
"I was getting
up at six in the morning and playing cops and robbers or drinking fake
beer and eating peanuts. It didn't offer me the depth," said Karsch.
"My soul searchs for depth. This is what I wanted."
The depth that Karsch
wanted was to work with youth. With his love for television and his compassion
for youth, Karsch worked (and still works) as a substitute teacher. During this time, he
began taping a youth talk show called On Your Level. With a shoe-string
budget and public access television as a platform, he talked with the
youth and led discussions about the issues. On Your Level was set
in a town hall setting, with audiences ranging from three people to audiences
of fifty. Instead of focusing the show on himself, common in many talk
shows today, Karsch often focused the cameras on the youth.
"I don't want
to sound like a preacher, but I believe in 30 minutes I could casually
share with these kids could possibly realign their perspectives. I want to let
them share with me what's going on. I also want the kids to have the guts
to tell me I'm wrong."
While working on the
show, Blair also compiled a book of poetry for youth, Bigger Than Cool.
"Kids need a
connection to why they're in school," said Karsch. "Hopefully,
this book will give them some sort of connection."
In early 1999, public
access television was pulled from the airwaves in Indianapolis. While
Blair struggled to keep his show in the public eye, he still continued
to substitute in over six school systems and sixty schools. And in 1999,
he launched his own Web site, BlairKarsch.com. While On Your Level
is no longer airing, Karsch is working with youth councils and various
agencies to get his show produced and shown on other television stations
in Indianapolis.
Blair is a vegetarian
and is an active member of the Jewish faith. He also keeps busy by playing
basketball and running. He is inspired by such people as Robert F. Kennedy,
Martin Luther King, Jr., Gil Scott Herron and Dick Gregory. He also loves
listening to music by Bob Dylan, John Hiatt, Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt,
Jackson Brown and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. When he's not
busy substituting, he often lends his passion to youth advocacy, politics,
social activism and the abolition of the death penalty. |