Huntington communication students earn national awards

FOR RELEASE -- December 2, 1999

HUNTINGTON, IN—A radio drama produced by Huntington College students Sharra Sieminski and Christine Slagel has won first place in the National Religious Broadcasters’ Student Achievement Awards Competition.  The annual contest involves students from over three hundred colleges and universities nationwide, and recognizes outstanding achievement in radio and television production.

Sieminski and Slagel’s winning entry was "Still There is Peace," a radio play telling the story behind the hymn "It is Well With My Soul." Its author, H. G. Spafford, experienced a life full of tragedy, yet found peace in God’s love. Sharra Sieminski states that "the source of Spafford's peace is in realizing that we do not know or understand why we experience certain pains in our lives, but that through trust and faith in God we can find peace." (Click here to hear production.) 

The two students wrote, produced, and directed the twenty-minute radio play. Sieminski and Slagel are both sophomores at Huntington College pursuing degrees in media communication. Miss Sieminski is originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, and is a graduate of Christian Liberty Academy. Miss Slagel is from Del Haven, New Jersey, and is a graduate of Cape Christian Academy. Their award-winning radio drama features the voices of actors Joe Ricke and Sam Ward. Ricke is professor of English at Huntington College. Ward serves as an admissions counselor at the Christian liberal arts college.

The NRB’s Student Achievement Awards Competition includes a wide variety of media in eight distinct categories.  In the Music Video division, the Huntington College team of Ryan Howe, Tim Manock, and Angie Steffen placed second nationally with their winning entry, "Where is God?" The music video featured dramatic special effects and background images of the war in Bosnia.  (Click here to view video.) All three students are media communication majors at Huntington College. Mr. Howe, a senior from Fishers IN, is a graduate of Hamilton Southeastern High School. Mr. Manock, a senior from Palatine IL, is a graduate of Christian Liberty Academy. Miss Steffen, a sophomore from New Paris IN, is a graduate of Fairfield High School.

The HC team of Jen Swineford, Josh Bean, and Carrie Johnson took third place in the music video competition with our video "All I Want," featuring the Huntington College band, Rejected Stone. Miss Swineford is a junior from Lebanon, Indiana, and a graduate of Ashland (OH) High School. Mr. Bean is a junior from Olivet, Michigan, and a graduate of Olivet High School. Miss Johnson is a senior from South Berwick, Maine, and a graduate of Seacoast Christian School. 

The first and second place winners will receive a professional plaque in recognition of their outstanding work in media at the Intercollegiate Religious Broadcasters award ceremony during the annual NRB convention February 5-8, 2000 in Anaheim, CA. 

This is the fourth year Huntington College students have participated in the intercollegiate competition, and the fourth consecutive year in which HC student productions have taken top national honors. In last year’s competition, HC students won second place in four of the eight award categories: Radio Documentary, Radio Demo, Radio Drama, and Television Short-Form Video.  In 1998, a team of five HC students won second place in Music Video with their production, “World Gone Mad.” The previous year, two entries produced by 1997 graduate Christia Campbell Whitacre took second and fifth place.

Huntington College’s Department of Communication offers academic concentrations in radio and television broadcasting, print journalism, oral communication, theatre performance, and theatre design.  Founded in 1897, the four-year Christian college is located in Huntington, Indiana.

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