Andre Villanueva smiles during an interview about his recent open-heart surgery.
BRONX, NY – Two students took home a major award for the Media Communications Program in May. Stephanie Rodriguez and Marlon Prawl did a feature news story about Truman senior Andre Villanueva, who recently underwent open-heart surgery to correct a congenital defect.
The story was submitted to the Student Television Network’s Spring Nationals competition. In the lifestyle news reporting category, the team took second place in the nation. This represents a major win for the media program, and the very first plaque the program will receive from Student Television Network.
“We’ve been a member of STN since 2013, and we’re talking about the top schools in the country,” Media teacher Dave Roush said. “To be put up against that type of talent and that level of competition – and walk away with second place? That’s huge for us.”
A public service announcement produced by Matthew Malave, Moses Perez and Angie Torres also received Honorable Mention from STN in the same contest.
“PSAs have always been our strong-suit,” Roush said. In the past, four teams have won scholarship prizes from the Walt Disney Company for PSAs they produced as part of the Get Reel With Your Dreams Program.
You can view the award-winning story below: