Communications students recognized by BEA awards competition

​Highlighted by a first-place finish from Interactive Media graduate Nick Margherita ’14 G’15, seven entries submitted by School of Communications students received awards in the 2016 Broadcast Education Association’s (BEA) Festival of Media Arts.

Marghertia’s film, “Pressing Issues For Print: An Interactive Documentary,” won the Student Interactive Multimedia Competition’s Solo Category. The documentary examines two newspaper owners and publishers, David Woronoff of The Pilot and Tom Boney Jr. of The Alamance News, exploring their respective publication’s history, current state and proposed future.

Fellow Interactive Media graduates Sam Kahle ’14, G’15 and Tiffany MacKins G’15 took third place and honorable mention, respectively, in the same category. Kahle’s project, “Luna: A Virtual Reality Experience,” teaches users about the phases of the moon in an immersive 3D setting. MacKins’ entry, “The Gentrification Project,” explores the revitalization of the Belmont neighborhood in Charlotte.

This year the festival received 1,538 faculty and student entries, and the competition’s 281 award recipients hail from 101 schools. Winners will receive recognition and exhibition of their works during BEA’s annual convention held April 17-20 in Las Vegas.

​“With an overall acceptance rate of roughly 18 percent, the competition in the Festival of Media Arts is intense and all of these winners deserve our highest praises,” said Associate Professor Vic Costello, a longstanding BEA member and currently the District 2 representative on its board of directors. “These student winners should be congratulated for the great work they have completed. These accolades were well earned.”

Other Elon University student work recognized by the Festival of Media Arts included:

Student Documentary Competition

Brad Hinkle ’15, Hal Rhorer ’15 and Connor Whitaker ’15 placed second in the Short Form Video or Film Documentary Category for their video, “The Art of Mark Strucko.”

Hinkle also received an honorable mention in the same category for “Love & Respect In Bentwood Park.”

Student Sports Competition


Matt Lee ’16, Emily Brooks ’16, Kayla Hammer ’16 and Emma Sales ’16 received an honorable mention in the TV Sports Story/Feature Category for their project, “How To: Golf.”

Student Video Competition


Mia Ginaé Watkins ’16 captured third place in the Music Video Category for her video, “The Kick 2.”