Shelby Nelson
Staff Writer
Two groups of La Verne broadcasting students were honored with first and third-place wins by the Broadcast Education Association last month in Las Vegas.
The team of Marianna Pignotti, Anthony Troli, Mckinley Pollock and Chelsea Stark-Jones won “Best of Festival” for their five-minute documentary on the Folk Music Center in Claremont, in the two-year/small college competition category.
The team of Kaitlin Hollingsworth, Marie Tabarez and Kyle Deeley won third place in the contest for “Encaustic Tile,” a short documentary that showcased a specialized business in Glendora.
“We were all pretty surprised,” senior Pignotti said. “Our professor Don Pollock always enters videos. When we won we surprised because we didn’t even know we were entered.”
“It’s somewhat validating to know that I can make something that other people can appreciate and recognize as quality work,” said Mckinley Pollock, who was the group’s camera operator.
The BEA contest has entrants from colleges across the nation. The association was founded in 1955 and focuses on helping students pursue television or radio careers and emphasizes the new era of electronic media.
“It was really cool to win on the national level where so many people are competing for the same thing,” said Anthony Troli, a sophomore, who directed the Folk Music Center video.
“The more La Verne can get, it’s always going to help,” Pignotti said. “There is always going to be the plaque; we kind of made our mark.
It was really exciting and we were honored to accept any award.”
The Folk Music Center video group additionally took home a $1,000 prize from the Lucille King Family Foundation, editing equipment and a plaque that will hang in the communications department.
Shelby Nelson can be reached at shelby.nelson@laverne.edu.
