SOUTH HOLLAND, IL–South Suburban College (SSC), with the assistance of Career Development Systems (CDS), hosted the 15th annual High School Video Competition on Thursday, April 28, 2022, in the Kindig Performing Arts Center. The competition showcases talent from high schools as well as provides tours of the college’s facilities, including the television studio, audio studio and new multimedia lab, built Spring 2022.
Graphic Design & Visual Communications coordinator, professor Pamela Planera, and other SSC staff welcomed high school students and their families to the event. “This year’s competition meant the world to me as it was my first in-person event since the pandemic,” said Planera. “I really enjoyed it and received a lot of great feedback to make this event even bigger and better for the future. It was great to meet students who plan on enrolling in my graphic design and visual communication courses this Fall of ‘22. The new visual communication program goes hand-in-hand with the graphic design degrees and certificates that we offer. I hope they continue to choose SSC for their college education.”
Six high schools submitted entries into the competition: Bremen, Hillcrest, Oak Forest, Richards, Shepard and Thornton Fractional South. Students entered work in nine different categories: Commercial/Promo, Creative Mobile Project, Live Multi-Camera, News Program, News Story or Feature, Podcast, PSA, Short Subject-Comedy and Short Subject-Drama. The forty entries were judged on aesthetic quality, technical quality, program design and overall effectiveness.
In addition to the student awards, high schools competed for the Regional Award of Distinction, which is determined by the highest average score per entry. Jodi Pelini, a professor at Shepard High School, accepted this award. “The SSC awards ceremony was the highlight of the 2021-2022 school year. After two years of virtual ceremonies, it was wonderful to be back in-person with the students to honor all their achievements. The competition was unbelievably fierce this year which made it all the more meaningful to take home the Regional Award of Distinction. I couldn’t be prouder of our students for their creative talent and their endless dedication to telling memorable stories,” said Pelini.
The student awards for each category are as follows:
Creative Mobile Project: First Place, “Mi Familia” – Shepard.
News Program: First Place, “Bulldog Dispatch” – Richards; Second Place, “Bravescast” – Bremen; Third Place, “Astro TV Newscast” – Shepard.
News Story or Feature: First Place, “Richards Pre-School” – Richards; Second Place, “Richards Male Mental Wellness Club” – Richards; Third Place, “2021 Bremen Braves Soccer Mid-Season Report” – Bremen.
Podcast: First Place, “The Story of Headless Canyon” – Bremen; Second Place, “The History and Future of Gaming” – Bremen; Third Place, “Be Kind to Your Mind” – Shepard.
PSA: First Place, “Drive Safe, Not Stupid” – Shepard; Second Place, “Donate. Save a Life” – Shepard.
Short Subject – Comedy: First Place, “Kyle” – Bremen; Second Place, “A VLOG to Remember” – Shepard; Third Place, “Mask Up” – Hillcrest.
Short Subject – Drama: First Place, “The Mirror in Me” – Shepard; Second Place, “Agent 228” – Oak Forest; Third Place, “Borderline” – Shepard.
Live Multi-Camera: First Place, “March Choir Concert” – Shepard; Second Place, “Pizza Wars” – Oak Forest; Third Place, “Bake Off” – Hillcrest.
Contact Pamela Planera at pplanera@ssc.edu or (708) 596-2000 ext. 2211 for information about Graphic Design & Visual Communications at South Suburban College. SSC is located at 15800 South State Street, South Holland, Illinois.
