The University’s chapter of the National Broadcasting Society (NBS) traveled to the NBS National Convention and Competition in Atlanta, GA late last month and came back winners.
NBS is a club on campus that is just one chapter of a much bigger organization, the National Broadcasting Society: Alpha Epsilon Rho (NBS-AERho.) It gives students the opportunity to develop the skills they will need for a career in electronic media industries such as film, television, and radio. According to organization’s official website, “NBS-AERho connects students with practicing professionals; emphasizes industry ethics, diversity, and inclusiveness; and promotes opportunities for excellence in leadership, community service, and production.”
“The National Broadcasting Society allows Monmouth students the opportunity to take the work they have created in class and in other clubs and compete on a national level,” said Erik Massimino, a senior and the president of NBS on campus.
Each year, the students involved with the University’s chapter of NBS are given the opportunity to travel to different parts of the country to attend the convention and competition. This year’s convention was held in Atlanta, GA from March 25 to March 29. The students who attended were club president Erik Massimino, Courtney Carr, Charles Jones, Matthew Cox, Marissa Cornford, Carly Cimino, and Jessica Rossi. While there, the club members were able to attend panels and network with professionals, as well as advance their knowledge of the electronic media field.
The students also took part in the NBS National Competition. According to Massimino, each year chapters from all around the country submit material to the competition. “In February we find out who is a finalist, or top three in the nation, and then on the last day of the convention the grand prize winners, or first in nation, are announced,” explained Massimino.
The University had 13 finalists, 10 honorable mentions, and four grand prize winners at this year’s competition. Brielle Cotelo won the Audio Feature Package award, while Lexi Morrison won the Audio PSA award. Massimino took home the award for Video Feature Segment, as well as for Video Promo.
Massimino explained that going up against big schools like Texas A&M, the University of Florida, and Emerson College makes being picked as a finalist or a grand prize winner even more of an accomplishment. “We are always one of the smallest schools in the competition and are considered an underdog,” he said. “However, every year during the awards ceremony Monmouth University has a huge presence, which, has led to our 68 awards, since 2005.”
Throughout his four years at the University, Massimino has received 11 awards at the NBS National Competitions. This makes him the most awarded student in the history of the University’s NBS chapter. “Winning a grand prize in the national competition is a great honor and is very inspiring,” he said.
According to Massimino, Dr. Dell, associate professor and Chair of the Department of Communication, helped the group out quite a bit this year. “I’m enormously proud of the 10 students who earned national recognition for their work, and am delighted that our students garnered thirteen nominations and four national awards this year,” Dell said. “It speaks to the quality of the student work at Monmouth University.”
Professor Aaron Furgason, faculty advisor for NBS, was also very proud of the group. “The four grand prize winners and ten honorable mentions show that dedication and hard works paid off for motivated communication students. These awards will look great on their resumes and should lead them to bigger and brighter futures,” Furgason said.
The advantages of attending the NBS National Convention and Competition do not end when the event is over. Networking with professionals allows students to build relationships that can last for years to come. “The National Broadcasting Society has given me the opportunity to network with some of the top professionals in my industry. This has led to several professional employment opportunities,” Massimino said.
Courtney Carr, a senior and member of NBS who was awarded an honorable mention at this year’s competition, has also experienced long-term benefits from taking part in the convention. “At the last NBS convention, I met Marc Summers for ‘Double Dare’ and kept in touch so I had the opportunity to shadow him for a day at work,” said Carr. “It’s because of NBS that I had that, and so many other amazing opportunities.”
What kinds of networking opportunities are available in a place like Atlanta as opposed to somewhere like Los Angeles, you might ask? “Sure, it was no California, but Atlanta opened up networking opportunities for a whole different market,” Carr explained. “They had some really great panelists that have had real life experience in the industry and were very encouraging to us.”
NBS encourages students to get involved and get their work noticed. “I highly recommend the NBS convention to any TV/Radio major,” Carr concluded. “You have so many networking opportunities with some really big name companies and some great people.”
PHOTOS COURTESY of Erik Massimino
