Grand Valley students garner MAB awards

More than 25 Grand Valley students attended the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference in Lansing and nine students received awards.   

The March 13 event, held by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, mixed an awards competition with symposia and a career fair. Most of the students travelled by van with Assistant Professor Keith Oppenheim and Visiting Professor Len O’Kelly, who arranged the field trip.

“Many of the students received awards for videos and news pieces submitted for categories in the College Television competition,” said Oppenheim. “Also, the group represents students in various majors.”

Winners, pictured above, include:
  - Sam Shields (Public and Non Profit Administration) – 1st place in Talk Show category.
  - Jamie Bartowicz – GVTV president,  accepting on behalf of Robert Nielsen (Film and Video) who won honorable mention for News Feature/Magazine program.
  - Jordan Boze (Broadcasting) – honorable mention for sports play-by-play.
  - Dan Spadafora (Broadcasting) – honorable mention for sports play-by-play.
   - Stephanie Weinstein (Broadcasting) – honorable mention for News Feature/Magazine Program.
  - Amy Akers ‘12 (Broadcasting) – tied for first place for News Feature/Magazine Program.
  - Christine Choriatis (Film and Video)  –  first place in Talk show category.
  - Kristin Nill (Journalism) – honorable mention for News Feature/Magazine Program.
   - Not pictured: Spencer Wheelock (Broadcasting) – awarded the Jerry P. Colvin Scholarship, an MAB Foundation award given to a Grand Valley student for outstanding performance in broadcasting.

Students also attended break-out sessions, including one on how to get a job in the changing media marketplace. They all attended a career fair, which gave them an opportunity to network with representatives from media employers from across the state.