HC student wins national essay competition

HUNTINGTON, IN -- A paper by Huntington College student Sharra Sieminski titled, "Standing Out in a Crowd: Distinctive Programming for Distracted Audiences", won first place in the national Al Sanders Scholarship essay contest sponsored by the National Religious Broadcasters. The competition examines issues and concerns regarding Christian broadcasting and education.

Miss Sieminski is a sophomore at Huntington College pursuing a degree in media communication. Originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, Sharra is a graduate of Christian Liberty Academy.

The scholarship is funded by Focus on the Family on behalf of Al Sanders, a pioneer in religious broadcasting. The competition is open to all full time US and Canadian undergraduate students who are majoring in communication, broadcasting or journalism.

Huntington College communication professor Lance Clark said, "The award is a tremendous honor. I am extremely proud of Sharra. She is a reflection of the academic excellence we prize at Huntington College. Her high standards are greatly respected by her fellow students."

In her paper, Sieminski advocated high standards in religious broadcasting. She urged Christian producers to engage the industry more aggressively and to offer more creative programming.

Sieminski will receive an academic scholarship award in the amount of $3000. She will be recognized at the opening plenary session of the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Anaheim, California, February 5-8, 2000. A group of eighteen students, faculty and staff members from Huntington College's communication department will attend the convention and will be on hand to cheer Sieminski as she accepts her scholarship award.

It was the second big award for Sieminski in recent weeks. In December, it was announced that a radio drama produced by Sieminski and fellow Huntington College student Christine Slagel had won first place in the Radio Drama division of the National Religious Broadcasters' Student Achievement Awards Competition. 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." Both will be honored at the NRB Convention in California next month.