Huntington University Digital Media Arts and Art and Design Programs Accumulate Awards in Competitions
Total of 50 awards earned across four competitions
HUNTINGTON, Ind. — Huntington University’s digital media arts (DMA) and art and design programs have been enjoying great success in various award competitions early in 2026, earning a total of 50 awards between Home Campus and Huntington University Arizona across four competitions.
The awards came from the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts (21 awards between campuses), the American Advertising Federation of Fort Wayne’s (AdFed) ADDY Awards (20 awards), the American Advertising Federation of Phoenix’s ADDY Awards (7 awards) and the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters State Contest (2 awards).
BEA Festival of Media Arts
HU Arizona earned a program record of nine student awards and added three faculty awards, including a Best of Festival for Christian Washington, while Home Campus racked up nine student awards, including a Best of Festival for Bryce Garrett.
“Winning Best of Festival at the BEA Awards this year is a true honor,” Washington said. “Animation is an incredibly demanding process, and this award is a testament to the hard work and creativity of an outstanding team of artists and Huntington students I had the pleasure to work alongside. Additionally, I’m deeply grateful to the Barlow Grant for helping bring this vision to life.”
“It means a lot for one of my videos to be recognized at a national level,” Garrett said. “It gives me a lot of confidence knowing that my work can measure up against some of the biggest colleges across the country.”
Huntington University has now been represented by faculty and/or staff at BEA’s prestigious Best of Festival Awards in nine of the past 11 years, totaling 15 Best of Festival recognitions.
The BEA Festival of Media Arts is an international faculty and staff digital media and broadcast competition with more than 2,250 entries from over 300 institutions. Home Campus and HU Arizona tied for 10th place with nine student awards apiece.
“We are incredibly proud of Christian Washington and this national recognition from the BEA Festival of Media Arts,” said Dr. Jamie Sanfilippo, dean of HU Arizona. “Earning a Best of Festival award is a significant honor and a powerful affirmation of Christian’s creative excellence and storytelling skill. His work reflects the caliber of artistry and innovation we strive to cultivate at Huntington University Arizona, and we are grateful for the impact he continues to make with our community and beyond.”
“Winning nine student awards, including a ‘Best of Festival,’ in this year’s BEA Festival of Media Arts competition is an incredible honor for us,” said Tyler Welker, associate professor of animation and chair of the Department of Digital Media Arts. “It shows that the creativity, passion and hard work we put into our projects truly stand out on a national stage against the largest schools in the country. More than anything, it reflects the quality of our students and the real impact their work has beyond the classroom.”
HU Arizona Faculty Awards
Christian Washington — Faculty Film & Video Competition: Best of Festival — Kid Super Pilot (Narrative Video Category)
Jonathan Vinson — Faculty Film & Video Competition: Commercial or PSA Category - Best of Competition — House of Honey
Christian Washington — Faculty Film & Video Competition: Narrative Video Category - Best of Competition — Kid Super Pilot
HU Arizona Student Awards
Tal Nelson, Jackson Steele and Song Nelson — Student Documentary Competition: Micro-Documentary Category - Award of Excellence — J's Motocross Journey
Aliyah Ballard and Lucas Svorinic — Student Documentary Competition: Short-Form Documentary Category - Award of Excellence — The Effort is the Prize
Audrey Bowman — Student Film & Video Competition: Animation/Experimental/Mixed Category - Award of Excellence — Catfish Jack
Tabitha Petersen — Student Film & Video Competition: Animation/Experimental/Mixed Category - Award of Excellence — Starry Strangers
Kai Kohatsu and Aleksandar Ammerman — Student Film & Video Competition: Music Video Category - Award of Excellence — Znora - Sweet Baby Rae
Julian Martinez — Student Film & Video Competition: Mini Narrative Category - 3rd Place (tie) — The Cosmic Camper
Brandon Zukas, Aiden McGrew, Kia Kohatsu and Lester Atkinson — Student Film & Video Competition: Short Narrative Category - Award of Excellence — And the Air Turned Red
Calvin Wiegel — Student Film & Video Competition: Spots Category - 1st Place — Headphones Commercial
Shelby Smith — Student Scriptwriting Competition: Short Narrative Film Category - 1st Place — A Sense of Warning
Home Campus Student Awards
Levi Pennington, Ethan Parker and Micaiah Rice — Student Audio Competition: Comedy or Drama Category - 2nd Place — George Washington Must Die
Zac Wechsler, Lana Cantu, Z Pelc and Abel Donaldson — Studio Audio Competition: Comedy or Drama Category - Award of Excellence — Tales of Terror
Bryce Garrett — Student Film & Video Competition: Best of Festival — Komets Blackout Night Promo (Promotional Category)
Alana Butts — Student Film & Video Competition: Instructional/Educational Category - Award of Excellence — Snacktime with Sam: Episode 1
Alana Butts, Carson McFadden, Carter VanderMeer and Sam Mann — Student Film & Video Competition: Mini Narrative Category - 2nd Place (tie) — Last Kill
Bryce Garrett — Student Film & Video Competition: Promotional Category - 1st Place — Komets Blackout Night Promo
Rachel Astorino — Student Scriptwriting Competition: Narrative Feature Category - Award of Excellence — TUNA Revolution
Claire Brandenburg — Student Scriptwriting Competition: Short Narrative Film Category - Award of Excellence — Monomania
Faye Satterthwaite — Student Scriptwriting Competition: Short Narrative Film Category - Award of Excellence — Washed Away
AdFed ADDY Awards
Huntington University left an emphatic mark on the AdFed ADDY Awards, totaling 18 individual awards (7 gold, 3 silver, 8 bronze) and taking home Best in Show honors overall.
Headlining HU’s honorees were Ryan Weidler, who took home Best of Show honors, and Beatriz Meija, who advanced to the American Advertising Awards Competition Winner District 6 competition encompassing Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, where she won silver, bringing HU’s overall award count through the AdFed circuit to 20.
“Watching our art and design students turn their creativity into award-winning designs is rewarding,” said Dr. Barb Michel, professor of art and chair of the Department of Art and Design. “I’m excited to see how they innovate and shape the future through design.”
The American Advertising Awards are hosted annually by the American Advertising Federation and represent the largest advertising competition in the world, recognizing creative excellence across advertising, design, illustration, marketing and media production. The competition operates as a three-tier national program — local, district and national — with winners at the local level advancing to district judging.
Awards
Best of Show
Ryan Weidler — Online & Interactive: Social Media — HU Volleyball Hype Video
Gold
Ryan Weidler — Online & Interactive: Social Media — HU Volleyball Hype Video
Jack Barnes — Cross Platform: Integrated Brand Identity Campaign — King Gone Green Brand Campaign
Ryan Weidler — Film, Video & Sound: Television Advertising — The Treehouse Season 5 Promo
Jordan Lynden — Elements of Advertising: Logo Design — Drawn Logo Design
Elizabeth Hon — Sales & Marketing: Cover & Editorial Spread or Feature — Vinyl Designs
Beatriz Meija — Sales & Marketing: Magazine Design — Beyond Borders Magazine Design
Beatriz Meija — Elements of Advertising: Animation or Special Effects — Life in Motion Design
Silver
Morgan Watts — Sales & Marketing: Packaging — Ghosted & Scooped Packaging Design
Isabella Haley, Emily Huhn, Layne Arnett, Noah Yentes — Elements of Advertising: Animation or Special Effects — Plastic Free July Zoo Promo
Intro to Animation Class – 2025 — Elements of Advertising: Animation or Special Effects — Circus Mayhem
Bronze
Ryan Weidler — Online & Interactive: Social Media — HU vs USF Quarterfinal Recap
Micah Gilliom — Elements of Advertising: Cinematography — When We Sleep
Bryce Garrett — Film, Video & Sound: Television Advertising — Komets Blackout Promo
Parker Delagrange — Film, Video & Sound: Television Advertising — Makin’ Moves Live Music Video
Beatriz Meija — Print Advertising: Magazine Design — Layers of Emotions Magazine Design
Nazareth Hill — Cross Platform: Integrated Brand Identity Campaign — Laylohs Brand Identity Campaign
Ryan Boyd — Film, Video & Sound: Television Advertising — HU Baseball Hype Opener
Morgan Watts — Cross Platform: Integrated Brand Identity Campaign — Ghosted & Scooped Brand Identity
American Advertising Awards Competition Winner District 6 — Silver
Beatriz Meija — Sales & Marketing: Magazine Design — Beyond Borders Magazine Design
Phoenix ADDY Awards
Similarly, HU Arizona saw much success in the Phoenix chapter ADDY Awards, taking home seven awards including a Best of Show by Alexa Shires.
The Phoenix chapter’s student competition included 45 submissions from four institutions, HU Arizona, Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University and one individual student submission. This was the largest amount of student submissions in the Phoenix chapter’s history.
“It has been a huge blessing to work with these students!” said Jeff Del Nero, assistant professor of visual art – graphic design. “This year's ADDYs had so much competition, and these projects were highly recognized! They bring so much passion and care to their work. I tell them, ‘Care is the most important aspect to creative work.’ Listening to the client's needs and working within the project framework to bring new ideas is not an easy task. Each student represented here, including projects that were submitted that did not receive an ADDY, brought so much passion to their work, and I am super happy for their efforts.”
Awards
Best of Show
Alexa Shires — New Yorker Magazine Cover
Gold
Alexia Shires — Sales & Marketing Publication Cover — New Yorker Magazine Cover
Alexia Shires — Elements of Advertising Single Illustration — New Yorker Magazine Cover
David Castillo — Elements of Advertising Logo Design — Burrito Shack Restaurant Rebrand
Silver
Elise Ascencio — Out of Home, Single Poster — Oakley Sunglasses Poster
Dyana Roman Flores — Elements of Advertising Logo Design — Revolt Motorcycle Gear Brand
Bronze
Erlinda Quintanilla — Sales & Marketing Packaging — Dijon Vu & Yellow Belly Mustard
IASB State Contest
Huntington University showed well at the IASB State Contest, earning the distinctions of Video School of the Year — College and Emerging Media School of the Year — College. Both were notable achievements, repeating as the Video School of the Year and winning three of the last four years overall, and earning the Emerging Media School of the Year recognition for the first time in program history.
