Montclair Wins Two ‘Student Emmy’ Awards for ‘Arizona Stories’
Montclair State University students are honored with Best in News and Humanitarian Awards by the Television Academy Foundation, highlighting School of Communication and Media excellence in journalism and storytelling
Posted in: Communication and Media, Homepage News, University
Montclair’s School of Communication and Media scored two Emmy-style honors at college television’s biggest night, with students taking the stage twice at the Television Academy Foundation’s 44th College Television Awards on April 5, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Arizona Stories: Border, Water and Politics – a multimedia series exploring asylum seekers, aid workers, and law enforcement at the U.S. southern border; youth voting trends at Arizona State University; and the challenges faced by farmers, artists and Indigenous communities – earned the College Television Award for Best in News. It also received the prestigious Seymour Bricker Humanitarian Award, a $4,000 prize honoring a winning project that best highlights a humanitarian concern.
“I’m thrilled for these students who worked hard, set out to produce some difficult stories, and created a terrific piece of journalism,” says Professor Steve McCarthy, who led the students along with Associate Professor Thomas Franklin for the course On the Road: Reporting from the Field. “They did it with a passion and dedication that is rare. They deserve this recognition.”
The College Television Awards, judged by members of the Television Academy, recognize excellence in student-produced programming from colleges across the nation and follow the same rigorous selection process as the Emmy® Awards.
Notably, the students’ immigration stories reflected powerful experiences while interviewing aid workers and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Television Academy Foundation praised the work as “an exceptionally moving piece,” showcasing “a steady grit, a clear voice, and above all else, an unwavering commitment to the people at the bedrock of the subject matter.”
This marks Montclair’s third win in this prestigious competition.
“It really shows that our efforts at the College of Communication and Media continue to build a program of excellence,” says McCarthy. “We go up against the biggest universities in the nation – and we win.”
This year, Arizona Stories won over entries from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Miami.
Previous award-winning Montclair projects include 2018’s Mission to Puerto Rico, documenting the island’s recovery from Hurricane Maria, and 2023’s New Orleans | Raging Storms, reporting on climate change and racial injustice in Louisiana.
“It’s crazy to believe that just one year ago we were filming this show, and now we’re in Los Angeles winning this award,” said Izzy Conklin, a senior BFA major in Film and Television, while accepting the News Award. Last spring, the group covered more than 2,300 miles in six days – traveling in two vans packed with gear, logging 12 to 16-hour days to produce their report.
“We need these young voices to report more than ever,” McCarthy adds. “This diverse group of young storytellers will represent their generation and their backgrounds and be an asset to society. I’m very proud of them.”
The series was shared on NBCU Academy’s national platform and is available to stream on the University’s Hawk+ digital platform.
The team behind Arizona Stories: Border, Water and Politics – Montclair State University:
- Dani Mazariegos, Director, Producer, Writer
- Izzy Conklin, Director, Producer, Writer
- Grace Keane, Director, Producer, Writer
- Terry Dickerson, Director, Producer, Writer
- Isabella Alvarez, Director, Producer, Writer
- Nino DeNino, Director, Producer, Writer
- Maurice Jenkins, Director, Producer, Writer
- Sean Thrunk, Director, Producer, Writer
- Gloria Perez, Director, Producer, Writer
- Mollie O’Donnell, Director, Producer, Writer
- Grace Gonzales Quis, Director, Producer, Writer
- Brandon Ehly, Director, Producer, Writer
- Aylin Alvarez Santiago, Director, Producer, Writer
- Michelle Ruiz, Director, Producer, Writer
- Yazemin Yilmaz, Director, Producer, Writer
- Jennifer Sanchez, Director, Producer, Writer
Hands-On Learning from Day One
Montclair offers students valuable hands-on experience through its award-winning student media organizations: WMSC 90.3 FM (radio station), The Montclarion (newspaper), Hawk Communications (strategic communications agency), Red Hawk Sports Network (covering varsity sports), News Lab (digital news outlet), Hawk+ (digital streaming service), Society of Professional Journalists campus chapter, and our Public Relations Student Society of America chapter.
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