FTDM Students, Faculty Win Big at BEA Festival of Media

Four students pose in front of a wall with B-E-A repeated across it. Two of the students are holding a certificate in a folder.

Dominick Schiappa, Raquel Shay, Emily Dearman and Anna Christy from the Documentary Production class pose with the class’s Award of Excellence in the Student Documentary competition for “Beloved.”

Congratulations to our students and faculty in FTDM for their award-winning work in the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts. They represented the Bob Schieffer College of Communication this week at the annual Broadcast Education Association and National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas.

Graphic text: B-E-A School rankings based on student achievements. 2023 top documentary program. Texas Christian University. Recognition of Excellence in Media.

TCU was also named a 2023 Top 20 Program in Documentary by the Broadcast Education Association.

Students in the Documentary Production class received an Award of Excellence in the Student Documentary competition for “Beloved.” Their documentary film features Project BeLovEd, which “strives to educate, advocate and collaborate to change the conversation about sexual assault and empower survivors to find their voices,” according to its website.

“One of the most rewarding parts of my role at TCU is seeing students become advocates through their work in my Documentary Production class, by allowing them to use their talents to spread awareness and support important work,”  Robinson said. “Project Beloved’s mission to change the conversation surrounding sexual assault was the inspiration for this film. Watching the students have the opportunity to be recognized for that work nationally by their peers and other educators was such an honor, especially during the month of April, which is sexual assault awareness month.”

Students Dominick Schiappa, Raquel Shay, Emily Dearman and Anna Christy attended the event and accepted the award on behalf of their classmates who worked on the film:  Madison Wiser, Andres Cortes, Gerardo Colegio, Ryann Booth and Amy Stark.

Professor Dr. Tricia Jenkins and Instructor Charity Robinson were named overall Best of Festival winners in the Faculty Audio competition for their audio documentary podcast, “Worldwide: The Unchosen Church.”

“Our BEA win was incredibly meaningful and rewarding. Having your peers and colleagues evaluate, validate and celebrate your work is one of the best professional feelings out there,” Jenkins said. “I’m also thankful for the opportunity we had at BEA to share our podcast with a new audience who might be interested in our story.”