NGU students bring home NRB awards
Emily Artus, Staff Writer
At the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention Feb. 23-26, North Greenville University students survived on caffeine and a passion for media.
The NGU NRB teams pose for a group photo. Photo Courtesy of Emily Gissendanner.
Three NGU teams placed in each of the following: digital video, digital news and audio production.
Shurajit Gopal, a mass communications professor and chair of the iNRB, explained how the hectic, 24-hour competitions work.
�Three weeks prior, we communicate with all the team members,� said Gopal. �And we send them the prep work. So if it�s a digital video, it�s producing a 4-7 minute movie and we will give away the theme.�
Once at NRB, the students are given a twist �such as a certain prop or line of dialogue� to incorporate into their projects minutes before the competitions begin on Monday at 9 a.m.
�They quickly develop a script,� said Gopal. �They do the shoot, they edit it and before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, they have to turn in the project.�
Torey Brown grabs a photo with Kevin Sorbo. Photo courtesy of Torey Brown.
The competitions are fast-paced, and the competitors fight fatigue to create quality projects.
�You don�t sleep,� said Kimber Henry, whose team placed third in the digital video competition. �You drink a bunch of caffeinated drinks. You go 24 hours straight.�
The conference, however, is about more than just competing. Students can network with other students and media professionals.
Senior broadcast media major Emily Gissendanner, who � along with her team� placed third in the digital news competition, created a news package about the importance of networking at the NRB convention.
�It�s really cool to meet people from all over the world and hear about how they�re using their talents to do different ministry-type things,� said Gissendanner.
Junior broadcast media major Victor Chasteen, who placed third in digital audio, said he enjoyed NRB�s Christ-centered atmosphere because media is normally dominated by secular influences.
�It was really cool to go into a place where everybody was there talking about different forms of media,� said Chasteen. �And it was all for the same reason about spreading the message of the Gospel.�
The NGU team poses onstage at NRB. Photo courtesy of Torey Brown.
Another perk of NRB is attending the variety of keynote and general sessions.
Elizabeth Neslen, a freshman broadcast major, volunteered with NGU�s team, and she attended a few of the convention�s sessions.
�The one I went to was �How to Start a Podcast,�� said Nelsen. �And the other one was �How to Keep Your Content Interesting.��
The NRB convention offered sessions covering topics from media ministry to print media, explained Nelsen.
Keynote speakers included Eric Metaxas, Kevin Sorbo and Anne Graham Lotz.
