By George Fladeland
Photo by George Fladeland
The KU Chapter of the National Broadcasting Society (NBS) held their annual induction ceremony for incoming members on Saturday, Nov. 7 in the Rickenbach Learning Center at the TV Studio. Electronic media professors, alumni, parents and students were all at the scene to get a glimpse of the fall 2014 inductees.
The ceremony began with Professor Helen Bieber welcoming everyone to the induction ceremony. Bieber’s welcome was followed by lighting candles as the inductees took their seats.
KU senior, Mike Varlotta, gave an introduction to the society. Varlotta touched upon the values of the society according to the national website and the NBS-AERho board of governors.
“The National Broadcasting Society-Alpha Epsilon Rho enhances the development of college students preparing for careers in electronic media industries,” read Varlotta. “NBS-AERho connects students with practicing professionals, emphasizes industry ethics, diversity and inclusiveness, and promotes opportunities for excellence in leadership, community service and production.”
Once the mission statement was read students Chris Francia, Elizabeth Miller, Anthony Cousin, Nicole Marshall and Stephen Maugeri spoke about the purposes of the society. President Zoey Grolman concluded the ceremony before Professor Cara Cotellese took the stage to call upon the newest inductees.
Cotellese inducted 23 new members into the National Broadcasting Society. Once a new inductee’s name was called out the inductee rose from their chair and walked by the podium to sign the coveted NBS chapter book as a sign of official acceptance into NBS.
After each one of the new members signed the NBS chapter book, Cousin introduced speaker Gina Johnson, a KU alumna from the class of 2008. Johnson was a student member of the NBS chapter at KU and continues as a professional member and a national representative on the board of directors. She is currently a producer for WFMZ-TV, Allentown, Pa. Johnson gets up early every weekday to produce “69 News at Sunrise.”
She spoke to the new inductees about her experiences as a member of NBS while she attended KU and she emphasized that being apart of the society helped her network with alumni in her field and in the professional world. She encouraged each and every member to go to the national convention in Atlanta in spring 2015 to gain exposure within the industry and to network with members from other colleges.