Brylee Harbuck, a Rogers State University communications senior from Disney, Oklahoma, was recently named one of five outstanding broadcast students in Oklahoma and received a $1,000 scholarship from the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters and OETA.
Harbuck becomes the fifth RSU communication student who has earned an OETA scholarship, recognizing excellence among the state’s college broadcast students. This year’s winners were announced Oct. 12 during the annual OETA Public Television Student Day in Oklahoma City.
Harbuck received one of three William “Bill” Thrash awards, honoring the former OETA Station Manager and head of programming and production for over 25 years. In addition to his many accomplishments, Thrash was inducted into the Oklahoma Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2002. The other recipients receiving the Thrash scholarship were Zayna Haliburton of Cameron University and Sophia Babb from Oklahoma City Community College. Mrs. Billie Thrash, the widow of Bill Thrash, presented the awards.
Paul Pugh of Langston University and Mikayla Barker of Oklahoma State University received a $1,000 Gene Dillehay scholarship each from his daughter Shawn. Dillehay was the voice for OETA for 18 years during his decades long career in Oklahoma broadcasting.
Cathy Coomer, RSU’s Student Broadcasting Association advisor and Assistant Professor in the Department of Communications, said the success of RSU’s growing communication program and the skills of its students continue to pay off.
OETA and the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters know RSU and recognize it as a competitive program with gifted students, she said. In addition to this award, Coomer says RSU Communication students have also received $2,000 Oklahoma Association of Broadcasting scholarships for seven of the past 11 years, including the 2016 award announced in the spring.
Other RSU students attending the OETA Student Day included Rebekah Newton, a senior from Coweta; Arielle Davis, a senior from Tulsa; Jesse McIntyre, a junior from Cushing; Gavin Rose, a junior from Collinsville; Amanda Hopkins, a junior from Tulsa, and Frederico Santos, a senior from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.