MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon Nazarene University students Nicolas Felizzola and Evan Walker have been honored by the intercollegiate branch of the National Religious Broadcasters by placing in the organization’s 2011 Student Production Awards competition.
Felizzola, a senior graphic design major from Buenos Aires, Argentina, placed third in the NRB Web Design category. He created www.carlunchi.com as the official site for his sister, 17-year-old singer Carla Felizzola. Its main goal is to share God’s love and grace through contemporary Christian music. The website contains Carla’s testimony, photos, mp3 downloads, videos and an event calendar. Felizzola serves on WNZR’s student leadership team as graphic design/website director.
“I am honored to place third in the competition,” said Felizzola. “It’s a blessing for me to share God’s message through what I love doing. Through this project, Carla and I hope to inspire other teenagers to follow Jesus with all freedom and without prejudices.”
Walker, a junior video and radio broadcasting major from Sunbury, placed third in the NRB News/Sports category. He submitted a sampling of his MVNU basketball play-by-play work on campus radio station WNZR 90.9 FM. Walker serves on the WNZR leadership team as news director and lead student announcer on all MVNU athletic events.
“I feel incredibly blessed,” said Walker, “not only because I placed in a nationally recognized competition, but also knowing that God gave me the talents to do what I’m doing.”
Students placing in the top three of each contest category will be honored at a reception Sunday, Feb. 27, at the annual NRB Convention in Nashville, Tenn. This is the fifth consecutive year that MVNU students have placed nationally in either radio or video.
Upperclassmen students taking radio and video classes at MVNU this fall submitted projects following the INRB guidelines, and the top projects were then evaluated and entered into the contest.
“We are always excited when the work of our students is recognized by INRB,” said Joe Rinehart, assistant professor of communication and director of Broadcasting. “The advantage of this competition is that the projects are judged by communication faculty and professionals across the country. When the judging sheets are sent back to us, the students get additional feedback on how their work was evaluated and how they can improve.”
The intercollegiate branch of NRB is committed to promoting excellence and integrity, and providing a forum for student and faculty members to network and share ideas and goals. For more information on the National Religious Broadcasters, go to www.nrb.org.
