Recent Scholarship Recipients

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Steven is heading into his fourth year at Bowling Green State University, where he plans to graduate in the spring of 2024. He is majoring in journalism and minoring in marketing. 

In his time at BGSU, Steven has interned at two different news stations in Ohio. During the summer of 2022, he spent time with WTOL 11 CBS in Toledo as a news intern with interest in sports. For the summer of 2023, he is following the same path at WOIO 19 Action News in Cleveland. 

At BGSU, Steven is also the sports content director for Falcon Media Sports Network. He has led the way in rebranding the sports organization into its current name, while introducing the brand to new avenues of people. 

During his spare time, you can find Steven at the golf course with his friends or spending time with his family, which includes his mother Sheila, father Steve, and sister Katie. 

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Simone graduated from Herron High School in Indianapolis in the spring of 2023. She will be attending Chapman University in California in the fall of 2023 to major in writing for film and television.

While in high school, Simone was admitted to Indiana University Bloomington’s Digital Cinema Academy, a selective summer academy that only admits 20 students nationwide. While there, she collaborated on a short film by writing the script and directing parts of the film with

a group of students.

Simone aspires to tell stories that inspire her, specifically the stories of groups often underrepresented in media, such as stories featuring women, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Along with studying film, she aims to supplement her artistic goals by pursuing an education in philosophy and ethics. She feels confident that these additional academic pursuits will elevate her storytelling ability and help her tell more meaningful, engaging stories. She hopes to use her storytelling abilities to succeed in a career as a screenwriter or film/television producer.

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At heart, there’s nothing I enjoy more than a good story, whether I’m the teller or the listener. I’m one hundred percent positive that makes me sound like a walking cliche, but it’s simply the truth. Professionally speaking, then, I’ve wanted to enter a field that allows me to
embrace that interest, and little areas suit that quite as well as television does.

Between books, movies, and television, there isn’t much else that ensnares my attention in quite the same way. This has led me into the Media Studies program in the School of Communications at the University of Akron, where I’m currently on track to graduate in the spring of 2023.

My journey fully began this past fall, when I joined ZTV, the University’s student-run television network, and spent a semester covering games for the ZTV Sports Report, a 30-minute talk show that put out five episodes every semester. By the spring, I found myself producing the show, and have done my best to showcase entertaining segments that convey the stories of various Akron Zips Athletics games.

Through my association with ZTV, I also became involved in the broadcast productions of said Athletics games, a department that staffs their cameras and control rooms with students looking to get experience and an introduction into an exciting field. I worked games as a camera operator for the entirety of the 2021-2022 school year, staffing ESPN3 broadcasts that ranged from soccer to basketball to volleyball.

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When I first started college, my goal was to become a TV reporter. But, during my sophomore year, I learned about one of the most important roles in the newsroom that goes unnoticed by the public but remains the backbone of a television news station; news producing.
It caught me by surprise. It was never my intention to pursue a career as a producer. But, when BG24 was looking for someone to step up and produce the weekly newscast, I decided to dip my toes in the water. Ever since then, I went from the news producer of BG24 to the Executive Producer, and now I am also a news producer at WTVG 13abc.

As a junior, I still have one more academic year remaining. But after college, I plan to continue pursuing my passion for news producing with the career goal of becoming an Executive News Producer in a large market, or at a national news station such as ABC or CBS.

For me, the first step began at BGSU. Through hard work and sleepless nights, I have been able to get my foot in the door at 13abc, where I plan to stay during the remainder of my college career as I continue to grow my skills and education, outside the classroom. After college, I am keeping my options open to help find the best path for me to achieve my professional
aspirations.

But for now, I am thankful for the continuous help and support from those around me in the field, to help me become a better producer and journalist with every passing day. I am thankful for all of the opportunities I have received. The position I am currently in allows me to pass down all of the knowledge I continue to gain to my fellow students around me. In the end,
the news industry is a team effort. Not one person can run a newscast or a news station.

Therefore, I am thankful for every day I am able to learn and grow, as I can help upcoming students of journalism receive similar opportunities, and hopefully achieve their dreams.

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Andy is a rising senior studying journalism at Ball State University. He aspires to work as a sports broadcast storyteller, and his goal is to work at a news station in Indianapolis such as WTHR, WISH, RTV 6, CBS 4, or FOX 59 as a video news sports reporter. Later in his career, he would like to teach broadcasting at a high school or university in the state of Indiana.

At Ball State University, Andy works for an extracurricular program on campus called

NewsLink Indiana. NewsLink is Delaware County’s only live television news program and is housed on Ball State’s campus. The club is run by students and puts on a 30-minute newscast every Monday through Thursday night and Friday mornings. He initially joined as a sports reporter but has worked his way up to the Sports Director position. In this role, he is a reporter and anchor as well as producer, mentor, coordinator, overseer, and problem solver for the sports department.

These campus experiences have afforded Andy the opportunity to work for Gray Media as a Future Focus Intern through their Fort Wayne station, WPTA. He worked as a broadcast journalist there in the summer of 2023.

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Evan graduated from Carroll High School in Fort Wayne in spring 2023. He will be attending Ball State University in the fall of 2023 as an honors student majoring in multimedia and broadcasting storytelling.

While in high school, Evan participated in the news program Studio 415 and practiced his skills as a broadcast journalist.

After graduation, Evan would like to work for a television news station and use his education and skills to keep the public informed of the changing events, issues, and people in the world around us. In addition, he has a strong interest and desire to create personal interest stories that help represent people and their problems or successes in a way that brings about interest, caring, and motivation. Overall, his biggest goal is to be a servant for his community through the work he produces and the stories he tells. By giving accurate, up-to-date, and insightful information about the topics and issues that matter most, he plans to build and maintain the public’s trust.

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Cimira Crews is from Maple Heights, Ohio Where she attended Maple Heights High School and maintained a 3.4 GPA. During her high school career she was involved in a two-year career technology program called media arts where she earned college credit and learned about journalism, broadcasting and much more; along with that, the program has made her a two-year member of Business Professionals of America. She led in various programs at her school; She was the Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, The Herald and the captain of her Majorette style dance team, The Magnificent Maroonettes. Cimira enjoys to write and was heavily into visual art and photography; with those talents she was able to showcase some of her photography at the Civil Rights Commission Office in Columbus, Ohio. While Cimira was participating in many extracurricular activities and maintaining a part-time job at Mitchell’s Ice Cream, she was also earning college credit from Ashland University and Tri-C where she completed five college level courses.

Cimira Plans to attend The Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University this upcoming fall and Major in Mass Communication. Her career plans are to work at a major broadcast company as a head producer.

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been naturally drawn to video projects. To me, it’s always been the most creative conduit for presenting ideas and information. These videos have also served as a platform for me to deploy the planning, leadership and communication skills I have developed through a deep background in various community-based organizations such as DeMolay, 4-H, and scouting.

I’ve thoroughly developed my vocational skills and increased my technical knowledge in the field of filmmaking. I’ve even been able to deploy many of these skills in real-world scenarios by filming weddings, commercials, and short films.

My first projects were all very simple, however, as projects came, they grew in sophistication, and the planning and leadership required to effectively execute them also grew. It was a process I fell in love with, and with every script written, schedule planned, and project edited, I knew I wanted to become a film producer.

During my sophomore year in high school, I took a TV Broadcasting class at the Area 31 Career Center, and became more passionate for the craft of filmmaking. As a senior, I was producer of our weekly newscast, and oversaw the production process from creating the timeline and approving or assigning projects, to editing, often staying late to publish the finished project. With every passing week, I continue to grow more passionate about becoming a filmmaker.

I will be continuing my education in the Fall of 2019 at Indiana University Bloomington, where I will be studying Media, with a concentration in cinema arts and production.

My goal is to eventually use this knowledge and experience to encourage others to think of something greater than themselves. I aim to be the catalyst for change, advocating for new and better social and ecological practices. I seek to collaborate with and learn from others, build meaningful lifelong connections, and develop a foundation of knowledge; to understand the art of visual storytelling.

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My name is Emma Kelley and I am a recent graduate of Marion L. Steele High School. I have had the privilege of being involved in many organizations, clubs, and teams throughout my high school career. One of these including being a member of our television broadcasting class, Steele News Live, where we produce over 150 live shows each school year! We do not specialize, allowing me to get experience in all positions. My lifetime dream of being a sports broadcaster and the education of this class have confirmed this is what I would love to do as my career, while also opening my eyes to many more possibilities. I have now realized there is so much more that goes into the final product than just what you see on the screen. I am looking forward to exploring all of these possibilities while attending the University of South Florida. Receiving the NATAS Lower Great Lakes Chapter Scholarship will assist me in my education, allowing me to achieve these goals. I am honored to be a recipient of the NATAS Lower Great Lakes Chapter scholarship, and I am excited to see what my future holds! Thank you!