Students in Furman\u2019s Department of Communication Studies find stories all over campus \u2013 on a small farm near the lake where organic vegetables sprout, in an athletics equipment room where a student contemplates his past and future, on the golf course where a young athlete is breaking barriers, and on paths where passersby own up to their odd celebrity crushes.<\/p>\n
On July 30, their talents were honored in a ceremony on the Georgia Film Academy Soundstage in Fayetteville, Georgia, as the Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced the winners of the 2022 Student Production Awards<\/a>. Six Furman communication studies students were nominated for awards, with four winning in their categories.<\/p>\n In the Non-Fiction Short Form category, Cam Hamer \u201924 won the Student Production Award for \u201cPatience \u2013 Episode One<\/a>,\u201d which he created in the Digital Storytelling course taught by Mary Sturgill, a media specialist and communication studies instructor. In the video, Hamer narrates his journey as a standout student athlete who transferred to Furman and worked as an equipment manager.<\/p>\n \u201cIs this what I had in mind? No,\u201d said Hamer over scenes of him at work in the equipment room. \u201cBut is this helping me reach my goals? Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamer, who joined the football team as a player in spring 2022, plans to continue his studies in communication. \u201cI\u2019ve learned certain techniques to keep my audience on their toes and more engaged,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve only had one semester of communication classes, so there\u2019s so much more to learn, and I\u2019m excited to see what the future holds, because this is only the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n Caroline Brickle \u201922, who earned her degree in communication studies in May, used her time in Janet Kwami\u2019s Advanced Digital Storytelling course to produce \u201cKyra Cox \u2013 Changing the Face of Golf<\/a>.\u201d The short film features Kyra Cox \u201922, Brickle\u2019s fellow communication studies major, as she candidly discusses her experiences as a woman of color on Furman\u2019s women\u2019s golf team.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no difference between a Black golfer and a white golfer,\u201d said Cox in the opening of the video, which won in the Sports Story or Segment category. \u201cEveryone plays the same game on the same course.\u201d<\/p>\n A much smaller green area \u2013 the 1\/4-acre Furman Farm \u2013 was the setting of \u201cMore than Organic<\/a>,\u201d a short film by Maggie Collins \u201923. The project, which won the award in the Photography category, showed the workings of the farm as it provides educational and work experience \u2013 as well as fresh produce \u2013 for the university\u2019s students. Collins used the Communication Studies department\u2019s new drones to collect some of the footage.<\/p>\n Collins interviewed student workers Isabella Quick \u201924 and Campbell Lomel \u201924 for the video, which she produced in Sturgill\u2019s Digital Storytelling class. \u201cTo start [sustainable farming] in a college, where you\u2019ve got these people who are going to be the foundation of the new world \u2013 this is huge,\u201d said Lomel in the video.<\/p>\n \u201cI was honored when Professor Sturgill told me about my nomination, but to have won is an even bigger honor,\u201d said Collins. \u201cWith the help of many faculty and advisors, I began to appreciate photography and see how crucial it is in communicating a message effectively. I look forward to taking the skills I have learned into whatever career path I choose following my four years here at Furman.\u201d<\/p>\n