SCDC students and professors dominate the BEA awards
Liberty University junior Abigail Voggenreiter has always kept her talent for writing poetry a secret.
WINNER — Abigail Voggenreiter, pictured above, won for her poetry.
“I’ve written for so long and have so many different pieces I’ve written, but I had always kept them to myself,” Voggenreiter said.
However, during an audio production class during the fall 2018 semester, she decided to step out of her comfort zone and submit a recording of her poem “I’m Worth It (And So Are You)” for her final class project.
“(My professor) told me he wanted to submit it to this competition, and I was like, ‘OK,’” Voggenreiter said. “I had no idea what it was.”
Her professor, Kornel Gerstner from the School of Communication & Digital Content, submitted her project, as well as several others from Liberty students and faculty, to the Broadcasting Education Association’s (BEA) International Competition, an organization that recognizes excellence in media arts and education.
Voggenreiter, who is studying Digital Media and Cinematic Arts, won an Award of Excellence for her poem “I’m Worth It (And So Are You).”
Gerstner, along with School of Visual & Performing Arts Associate Professor Chris Nelson and School of Communication & Digital Content Associate Professor Dr. Chris Underation and episode author and scriptwriting student Philip Sitterding received for their work on the Liberty Radio Drama “The Encounter,” a Best of Festival award, the highest award available.
“For people who do what we do, this is the pinnacle,” Underation said. “There is no higher award. There is no greater honor.”
“The Encounter” also won a Best of Competition Award for the third straight year in a row.
“I’ve done a lot of really awesome projects that have taken me to really awesome places, … but I’ve not loved any as much as I’ve loved (“The Encounter”),” Underation said. “It’s just really good.”
For Voggenreiter, her piece was deeply personal.
“The piece I had written was about a lot of rejection I had in my life,” Voggenreiter said. “I think that was the Lord using that bad for good. God has closed doors, and now he’s opening them. … It’s wild.”
The recent success of Voggenreiter’s poem and her newfound confidence have given her multiple opportunities for freelance work, including a spoken word piece she is writing for a women’s conference in Los Angeles.
“It really validated my work,” Voggenreiter said. “Actually, being recognized for my work was a huge confidence booster for me. It’s definitely spurred me on to do more things.”
Voggenreiter said she is grateful to her professors who have helped her every step of the way and encouraged her do what she is passionate about.
“Dr. Mott (Associate Professor, School of Communication & Digital Media) told me, ‘If you’re not passionate about your work, your work is not going to be good,’” Voggenreiter said. “That’s why I decided to record this poem I wrote.”
Now, Voggenreiter wants to share her newfound passion with students who, like her, are timid about sharing their work.
“If something is really impactful to you, don’t be afraid to put your stuff out there because there may be someone who needs to hear it,” Voggenreiter said.
In total, Liberty took home nine BEA awards this year. For the complete list of Liberty winners and their projects, visit the School of Communication and Digital Content’s Instagram page @libertyscdc.