By Victoria Durgin, Asst. Digital Media Editor
Susquehanna’s campus radio station now has gold to add to their studio. WQSU took home four awards at the 2019 Intercollegiate Broadcasting Systems (IBS) conference in New York City on Saturday, March 2.
WQSU was crowned the Best College Radio Station Under 10,000 Students at the annual conference and awards event. The station beat entries from King’s College, SUNY Fredonia, Goshen College and Gannon University for the top honor.
The awards, known as Golden Microphone Trophies, also recognized the station’s use of Facebook, the station’s facilities and an on-air pledge drive ran last year.
The four wins were from nine total nominations WQSU earned from IBS. Station Manager Dawn Benfer says she is unbelievably proud of the students involved with WQSU.
“I am so proud of the creative and consistent work our student broadcasters accomplish every day,” Benfer said. “It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of this incredible, hardworking and dedicated team.”
Department Head of Communications Craig Stark says he was “very pleasantly surprised” at the wins, especially the awards for best college radio station and best facilities.
“That was some pretty heavy competition we were up against,” Stark said. He also noted that the wins showed him the station has come a long way since he first came to Susquehanna in 2006.
In addition, Susquehanna students and faculty presented at the conference to other collegiate radio students and staff. According to MySU, student officers from the station hosted a session on finding a job in the communications field.
Additionally, several Susquehanna faculty members presented information on what students should include in a resume and cover letter.
Stark, Benfer, Linda Burkley, a lecturer in communications and Brady Gallese, the faculty advisor for WQSU all presented students with advice on building a digital portfolio.
The wins at the IBS conference follow another award for the station announced in February. WQSU won the Outstanding Station Sponsored Event award from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters (PAB).
The PAB awards are open to all radio and television stations in the state.
Stark said that he is excited about the win because the PAB awards cover so many programs in the state, and Susquehanna beat out all other college programs to be the only university recognized in the 2019 ceremony.
The award from the PAB recognizes the station’s Toys for Tots Drive.
2018 marked the 18th year the station has sponsored the annual drive for the national program benefitting children during the holidays.
Benfer says the station empowers the students who work on and with it.
“We are empowering the students at WQSU. This is an environment where they can make decisions, learn from mistakes, learn how to work creatively and be productive in a professional environment,” Benfer said.
Stark hopes the awards are just the beginning of more things to come.
“There’s tons of other awards sitting out there,” Stark said. “Why not go for those, too?”
Stark thinks the recent success also raises expectations for the communications department as a whole, and wants to build on WQSU’s success in other publications.
WQSU also won two PAB awards in 2018. They were recognized for 50 years of operation with a Judge’s Merit Award, and also won Outstanding Radio Coverage of a Local Sporting Event for their work on covering football.
The station will accept the PAB award for Best On-Air Pledge Drive in May at a luncheon at the Hotel Hershey, according to MySU.
