SOUTH HOLLAND, IL–South Suburban College (SSC) with the assistance of Career Development System (CDS) hosted the 8th Annual South Suburban College Video Competition on Thursday, April 2, 2015, in the Kindig Performing Arts Center. The competition showcases talent from area high schools as well as provides students with a tour of the college’s facilities, featuring the television studio/control room, audio studio/control room, and multimedia lab.
“The competition is a great opportunity for high school students and their parents to see the new technology we have throughout the facilities,” said SSC Communication Instructor John Geraci.
“The turn-out for the event was great and the skill level continues to exceed my expectations every year.”
Eight local high schools submitted entries to the competition including Bremen, Eisenhower, Hillcrest, Oak Forest, Richards, Thornton Township, Thornwood, and Tinley Park. Students entered work in seven different categories: Commercial, PSA, Short Subject, Music Video, Creative Editing, News Story or Feature, and News Program. The 61 entries were judged on aesthetic quality, technical quality, program design and overall effectiveness.
SSC Assistant Vice President of Academic Services and Institutional Effectiveness Ronald Kawanna, Jr. was inspired by the students’ creativity. “Events like our High School Video contest remind us why we are all here,” Kawanna stated. “Our future will depend on these young students, and our future looks bright if this is a demonstration of things to come.”
In addition to the student awards, high schools competed among each other for the Regional Award of Distinction. Hillcrest High School won this award, having the highest average score per entry.
Michael Lynch (Communication Arts and Technology Instructor for District 228) said, “The creativity and work ethic of the Hillcrest students this year is the reason for their success. We concentrate on storytelling in the program, and this year’s Hillcrest crew took the elements of storytelling to another level.”
The student awards for each category are as follows:
Commercial: First Place, “Honda” – Bremen; Second Place, “Ike’s Next Top Anchor” – Eisenhower; Third Place, “Nike” – Bremen.
PSA: First Place, “Signs” – Bremen; Second Place, “Drugs Destroy Futures” – Eisenhower; Third Place, “R.C.H.A.” – Eisenhower.
Short Subject: First Place, “Romeo and Nope-iet” – Bremen; Second Place, “The Joneses” – Bremen; Third Place (tie), “Disconnection” – Hillcrest, “Trapped” – Bremen.
Music Video: First Place, “A Fire Love” – Hillcrest; Second Place, “Keep It Moving” – Thornton Township; Third Place, “Give Me Love” – Eisenhower.
Creative Editing: First Place, “Still I Rise” – Thornton Township; Second Place, “Stop the Violence” – Eisenhower; Third Place, “Never Give Up” – Thornton Township.
News Story or Feature: First Place, “Motown Showdown” – Thornwood; Second Place, “Freshman Tips” – Thornwood; Third Place, “R.M.H.C.” – Eisenhower.
News Program: First Place, “Friday Flash” – Eisenhower; Second Place, “Millennial Monthly” – Tinley Park; Third Place, “Hawkscast Winter 2015 Edition” – Hillcrest.
