More than 250 students and advisers from 16 area high schools and one home-schooled student attended Communications Day 2019 Friday, sponsored by the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University.

The schools included Alfred-Almond, Archbishop Walsh, Avoca, Belfast, Bradford Area, DuBois, Eisenhower, Frewsburg, Gowanda, Maple Grove, Olean Career and Technical Education Center, Lake Shore, Otto-Eldred, Portville, Southwestern, and Webster Schroeder.

Students participated in workshops on Social Media, Digital Journalism, Interactive Reporting, Investigative Journalism, Marketing Communications, Writing, Sports Broadcasting and a special Live Broadcast Journalism experience, which included a team from Erie News Now (WICU-TV) in addition to SBU-TV.

Several students participated in video, photography and feature news competitions. These were judged by Beth Eberth, director of university communications at St. Bonaventure, Chris Michel, director of marketing and communications for the Olean Business Development Corporation, and Chernice Miller, adjunct professor at St. Bonaventure and the University of Buffalo and a Ph.D. candidate.

Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Jandoli School of Communication, announced the following winners, who will be granted scholarships should they chose to attend St. Bonaventure. He also announced that the scholarships will be continued each year up to four years for students who major in one of the Jandoli School undergrad programs; otherwise, it will remain a one-year scholarship for other major choices.

Recipients are:

Best in Show: $1,000 Scholarship
Olean Career and Technical Education Center
Pro ABC 25 – Pride Month Video

• Kyle Griffin
• Dustyn Green
• Charlie Struble
• Jaxon Schwindler
• Caleb Foster
• Jocelyn Decker

Best Photo: $500 scholarship
Olean Career and Technical Education Center
“Human” – Photography

• Makenzie Rossman
• Tyler Burkett
• Christopher Selph
• Cheyenne Smith

Best Feature/News: $500 Scholarship
Southwestern High School
“Past the Hate: There is Home” Feature/News Story

• Chloe Peters

Adrian “Woj’ Wojnarowski, '91, of ESPN presented a keynote address and emphasized the importance of the skills learned in the Jandoli School preparing for any media industry changes that students may face.

Next year’s CommDay will take place on Oct. 23, 2020.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. In 2019, St. Bonaventure was named the #1 regional university value in New York and #2 in the North by U.S. News and World Report.