Rogers State University broadcasting students recently received awards from the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association (OBEA) Student Competition.
RSU students entered five categories and received three awards, including first place in radio promotion, second place in television public service announcement and third place in radio entertainment.
Twenty Oklahoma colleges and universities participated in the competition, which was held on January 24 at Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond. Students from the institutions submitted more than 200 entries in 20 categories including radio, television and multimedia.
Broadcasting professionals from across Oklahoma served as judges in the competition.
Nathan Alessi, an RSU broadcasting major who works as night-time announcer for Clear Channel Communications in Tulsa, received the first place award for his radio spot promoting community awareness of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Alessi, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., also is a member of the RSU student chapter of the OBEA.
Ryan Prewitt, a 2001 graduate of Claremore High School, was awarded second place for his television public service announcement promoting community awareness of the “Habitat for Humanity” project. A broadcasting major, he serves as president of the RSU student chapter of the OBEA and is a master control operator at RSU-TV. He is the son of Danny and Sherry Strickland.
Chris Anderson, Rana Peters and Sheila Blankenship won third place in the radio entertainment category for their humorous production of a group’s dream to build a disco hall for the townspeople of a small southern rural community. Anderson, an RSU broadcasting major from Owasso, serves as the student producer for “RSU Magazine” and is an officer of the RSU student chapter of the OBEA. Peters, a 1998 graduate of Claremore High School, and Blankenship, a 2000 Panola High School graduate, are both RSU broadcasting majors, and host a Monday afternoon program on RSU Radio, 91.3 FM.
The students will be presented their awards during a special luncheon scheduled in February at the Doubletree Hotel in Tulsa.
For more information on the OBEA and RSU broadcasting program, call (918) 343-7740.