ZS
Zachary Schmidt
  • digital media
  • Class of 2016
  • Northwood, IA

BVU Digital Media Students Honored

2016 May 19

Storm Lake, Iowa (May 18, 2016) - Digital media students, including Zachary Schmidt , a senior digital media major from Northwood , took home several awards and other honors during April at state, regional and national levels.

On April 21, ten students were inducted into the Society for Collegiate Journalists (SCJ) national honor society for student media leaders, and five graduating seniors were awarded honor cords at the ceremony. SCJ also announced its winners for the 2015-2016 national journalism contest, where 13 BVU students took home awards in numerous categories.

In overall awards, The Tack Online placed second in the overall online news website excellence category. In the overall magazine excellence category, senior Stephanie Steiner and junior Kiley Wellendorf were awarded third place for their Immersing Magazine. The BVU chapter of SCJ is dedicated to service and the promotion of First Amendment ideals.

"I'm proud that the BVU chapter of SCJ continues to strengthen with new, energized student leadership. This year's class of inductees has already contributed a great deal to the stories we are telling across KBVU, the University Cable Network and The Tack Online," said Dr. Andrea Frantz, associate professor of digital media. "I anticipate we'll be see some great things from these students in the coming years."

Four students were also honored by the Iowa Motion Picture Association (IMPA) on April 20, which recognizes outstanding creative and technical achievement in Iowa's moving image production industry.

On a regional level, the Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ) held its annual Mark of Excellence Awards ceremony for Region 7 in Kansas City on April 16. Five BVU student works were named regional finalists in the national competition.

"All of us in digital media at BVU continue to be gratified that our students' work has again been recognized at these levels. Stories bind and define us as humans, and we believe the skills our students are building in this arena will make them competitive in any job market we can envision in the coming years," said Frantz.

The awards and honors that BVU media organizations and students received include:

SCJ Induction

Students inducted in the formal ceremony:

  • Diedree Marie Friesen
  • Mackenzie Breanne Rappe
  • Tiffany Nichole Brauckman
  • Cooper J. Maahs
  • Brittany Ann Poeppe
  • Meredith VanZuiden
  • Kylee Rachelle Deering
  • Spencer Davis Lee
  • Nathaniel Robert Connelly
  • Chase Taylor Harrison

Seniors awarded honor cords at the ceremony:

  • Zachary Schmidt (Chapter President)
  • Nathan Connelly
  • Chelsey Goetz (Chapter Treasurer)
  • Stephanie Steiner (Chapter Vice President)
  • Claire Boston

SCJ National Contest Individual Awards:

Multimedia News

  • Skyler Gorsett, First Place; "Breaking Stereotypes"
  • Justice Gage and Kyle Wiebers, Second Place; "Questions w/ Kyle: Spina Bifida Awareness

Photo Slideshow

  • Stephanie Steiner, Third Place; "From Pierce/White to McCorkle: An RA's Story"
  • Susie Haack, Honorable Mention; "Struggles of a Voice"
  • Morgan McGrew, Honorable Mention; "Juanita Mondragon"

Multimedia Feature

  • Kiley Wellendorf, Second Place; "A Guide of Love"

News Stories

  • Madeleine McCormick and Kylie Wellendorf, Honorable Mention "Students abroad affected by terror attack in Paris"

Continuing Coverage

  • Stephanie Steiner and Aaron Burns ('15), Third Place; "University Prioritization Process"

Feature Stories

  • Kiley Wellendorf, First Place; "A guide of love: the bond between a service dog and a freshman in college"

Sports News

  • Tanner Hoops, Honorable Mention; "Beavers win over Warriors in final seconds"

Radio Sports Package

  • Tanner Hoops, First Place; "BV women's basketball highlights"
  • Tanner Hoops, Third Place; "Head wrestling coach Jeff Breese interview"

Television Feature Package

  • Chelsey Goetz, Second Place; "Small Town Eats and Yummy Treats"

Television Sports Package

  • Zachary Schmidt, Chris Haberman & Tanner Hoops, Third Place; "BVU Football v. Loras"

SCJ National Contest Overall Awards

Overall Magazine Excellence

  • Stephanie Steiner and Kiley Wellendorf, Third Place; Immersing Magazine

Overall Online News Website Excellence

  • The Tack Online, Second Place

IMPA

Animated Entertainment-Short Form

  • Cassie Forsyth ('15) Award of Excellence, "I'm So Disney"

Student Production-College

  • Emily Johnson and Chelsey Goetz, Award of Achievement, "Taking Stage"
  • Zachary T. Schmidt, Award of Achievement, "Stand for Me"

SPJ Mark of Excellence Finalists

  • Television Feature Reporting- Chelsey Goetz, "Small Town Eats and Yummy Treats"
  • Radio Feature Reporting- Zachary Schmidt, Chelsey Goetz, & Chase Harrison, "Nate Ruess, Next Gen Climate, Reverb and Iowa"
  • Online Feature Reporting- Kiley Wellendorf, "A guide of love: the bond between a service dog + a freshman in college"
  • Best Use of Multimedia- Stephanie Steiner & Krystal Schulte ('15) "Living under a rock in the digital age"
  • Best Independent Online Student Publication- The Tack Online