SUNY Oswego broadcasting student Clarissa Karki, sitting at the news desk at CNN headquarters in Atlanta during a summer internship, won multiple Broadcast Education Association awards to contribute toward a recent high ranking from the organization.
SUNY Oswego was recognized among top achievers by the Broadcast Education Association (BEA)’s 2024 Recognition of Institutional Excellence in Media, placing at the top of four SUNY schools and in the top five of all New York universities, both public and private, that made the list.
The recognition, released annually since 2022, ranks higher-education institutions based on the past five years of student success in BEA competitions. According to their website, nearly 7,000 student projects from over 300 member institutions globally were submitted in the last five years.
Oswego ranked highest among public schools in New York on the strength of student success, with six students earning BEA recognition in the past year. Clarissa Karki ‘24 won “Best in Show” for her documentary “Operetta: Lost, Found, Now on Stage” about a local operetta showcasing the history of local Fort Ontario, and the “Award of Excellence” in the Radio News category for her piece “Nuclear Power: Is it Clean Energy?” which was produced as part of "Energizing CNY," a one-hour special that aired on WRVO.
Zac Nusimow '23, Cletus Tepas '23 and Melinda Brancato '25 were also recognized with the "Award of Excellence" in the Film and Video Narrative category for their piece "I Gave Al Roker an Al Roker Sub in Front of the Al Roker Studio."
Most recently, Samantha Keaney ‘24 and Jaime Hunter ‘24 earned first place in the “Student Audio - Multimedia Sound Design” category for their complete audio replacement of a scene in the animated film “Rango.”
“We certainly are not surprised to make the list, but it is validating to get national recognition,” said Jennifer Knapp, dean of the School of Communication, Media and the Arts (SCMA). “To quote one of my SCMA colleagues, SUNY Oswego is the place where excellence meets opportunity. I will put our best students against any other university's best students every day of the week.”
“So many college rankings rely on data that tells us nothing about how well students in a particular program can apply what they're learning. That's what makes BEA's rankings stand out," said Michael Riecke, department chair and associate professor. "It's an incredibly competitive process, and time and time again students in our broadcasting program have demonstrated they have the skills, talent, and work ethic to battle it out and win against students from some of the most prestigious media production and journalism programs in the country.”
This recognition from the BEA comes ahead of the complete renovation of Hewitt Hall, an $80 million project to turn the former Hewitt Union into a state-of-the-art SCMA building. The reconstruction will place SUNY Oswego and SCMA at the forefront of all institutions in the northeast with similar programs. Hewitt is expected to be completed by fall 2025.
SUNY Oswego students Samantha Keaney (left) and Jaime Hunter (right), shown working in the Lanigan Hall recording studio, earned first place in the Broadcast Education Association's “Student Audio - Multimedia Sound Design” category for their complete audio replacement of a scene in the animated film “Rango.”