Media students gather awards at national level

This year several of MVNU’s communication students attended the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention in Nashville, Tennessee, and brought home multiple awards.

Each year NRB hosts an intercollegiate challenge for students to compete in five different categories.

Students submit their work to the organization in the fall and receive the results in December of each year. Students are allowed one submission per category.

Annabelle Harray took first place in PSA and commercial and third place in promo and imaging for radio production.

Faith Orecchio tied for fourth place in the news and sports category, and placed fifth in news and features for audio.

Jessica Wells was fourth in promo and imaging. Aubrey Bailey received fifth place in the PSA and commercial category.

MVNU students also attended the annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee, the week before spring break.

At the conference, they had the chance to meet established professionals in the industry, have first looks at the newest media and compete in challenges to stretch their skills.

The convention includes a 24-hour challenge in which teams of two to four students compete in video production, audio production or public relations contests.

Jenna Potts, Alex Sneed and Emily Porter competed in the public relations challenge and placed second. Jesssica Wells and Annabelle Harray competed for the second year in a row and placed fifth in the 24-hour audio challenge.

This chance to rub elbows with the professionals in the industry allowed them to learn from their experiences and build a professional network.

Some of the professionals present this year were Phil Cooke, the Kendrick brothers and Roma Downey. Students could also premier films such as “God’s Not Dead 2,” “Miracles from Heaven” and “Young Messiah”.

Wells said the NRB convention is both practical and enriching, because it encourages student awareness of the ever- changing industry and helps prepare them for their futures.

“NRB was a great learning experience,” she said. “It gave me the opportunity to learn and grow in my craft while also getting to put into practice what I learned. I also enjoyed getting to meet with media professionals who are in the positions I want to pursue.”