By Lauryn (Lundburg '06) White

Northwestern’s Electronic Media Communication students are no strangers to winning awards from the Intercollegiate National Religious Broadcasters (iNRB). Each year they return from the Nashville convention with an armful of trophies for everything from radio dramas to music videos to websites, and 2011 was no exception. In February, NWC won 17 awards, including eight first-place awards.

NWC sweeps essay scholarship awards
This was the first year in which NWC students won all three of the iNRB essay scholarship awards. Drew Hoekema ’11 received a $2,500 scholarship for his essay, which explained why he wants to work in secular broadcasting after graduation. Erin McGregor ’11 and Micah Murray ’11 took first and second place, respectively, in the Al Sanders scholarship competition for their essays on the future of broadcasting. McGregor’s paper stated that the best way to package truth for Generation Y is through visual storytelling through film.

WVOE wins 3rd Station of the Year award
For the third year in a row, WVOE 97.7 FM has been named “College Radio Station of the Year” by the National Religious Broadcasters, an award presented each year to an outstanding student-operated radio station.

Students win 36-hour video challenge
During the NRB convention, eight NWC students spent 36 hours producing media for the 36.DA and 36.DV Challenge competitions. This was the first year NWC students took home first place in this challenge. Seniors Phil Baur, Laura Hoffman, Erin McGregor and Micah Murray won first place out of five entries in the 36.DV contest for the 60-second video they produced for GOGF ministries.

To compete, students created a promotional digital audio or digital video spot for a ministry client—drawn from a hat at the convention. The student teams then met their clients and had just 36 hours to produce their piece from start to finish. The entries were judged by a panel and screened in front of an audience at the awards ceremony.

Hoffman explained the importance of having a team that worked well together in this high-pressure competition. “Everyone was able to contribute his or her gifts and talents to the project, and there was great respect for that throughout the process. There’s no room for arguing in a 36-hour production competition, and I think that the mutual respect for each other’s opinions helped us produce a great product.”

NWC seniors Drew Hoekema, Jonathan Meerdink, Derek Murphey, Adam Rozanas took second place in the 36.DA competition for the audio spot they produced for Pacific Garden Mission.