Nicholson Spotlighted for ‘On the Spot’ News
Story by UCF Nicholson School of Communication
Pictured (left to right) are: Priscilla Peralta, Stephanie Rice, Anastasia Pavlinskaya, Ivan Jimenez, Michelle Matarazzo and Aric Noblitt.
UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication students mixed, mingled and claimed special honors during the National Broadcasting Society’s national conference in Burbank, California. The student chapter attended March 12-17, 2016 along with Stephanie Rice, associate instructor and radio-television area coordinator.
The five Radio-Television (RTV) students attending won first place in the “On the Spot” feature story category with their spot news clip covering the soft opening of the Harry Potter exhibit at Universal Studios. Ivan Jimenez, Anastasia Pavlinskaya, Michelle Matarazzo, Priscilla Peralta and Aric Noblitt made their sponsor and school proud. (Click here to watch the winning video.)
Also in the spotlight was RTV student Tiffany Gentry as a finalist for best audio commercial. And Freddy Rodriguez, Daniel Ferreira, Bethany Lewis, Aaron Renisoff, also of RTV, were finalists for best documentary.
“I just had a good feeling they may win, as I had observed how they all pulled together, worked hard and made the story something they could be proud of whether they won or lost,” Rice said. “I am so proud of these students!”
During the conference, students were busy attending an array of seminars, including “Working in Realty TV,” “Alternative Careers to Electronic Media” and “Getting Your First Job in Hollywood.” They listened to industry experts like Jay Huguley who plays the role of David in AMC’s hit “The Walking Dead” and NBC news correspondent Joe Fryer. They toured Warner Brother Studios and got to see a live taping of “Two Broke Girls.” A well-attended social with UCF alumni in the Los Angeles area allowed for even more networking opportunities.
Even with all of the excitement from the 2016 conference, Rice has raised her expectations for the students in 2017.
“Our goal for next year is to win more than one first place award, and with some of this team returning and new NBS members I have no doubt we can accomplish that.
“It was such a memorable week with seeing our successful alumni working in LA, to networking and winning an award! We came back very motivated for next year!”