PULLMAN, Wash. ‑ Cristina E. Romento and Rachel Padget, students in the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University, have been named winners in two national competitions for a project completed as part of their studies in the Murrow School.
In a letter received the last week of February, Romento and Padget were informed their video project, “Teaching a Woman to Fish,” had won a Telly Award. According to Recognition Media, owner of the competition, the Telly was created in 1978 to strengthen the visual arts community by inspiring, promoting and supporting creativity.
Days earlier Romento and Padget received word they had won the 2006 Gracie Allen Award sponsored by American Women in Radio and Television Inc.
AWRT gives out the Gracie Allen Award to recognize exemplary programming created for women, by women and about women in all facets of electronic media. Romento and Padget plan to attend the AWRT awards luncheon June 20, at
The students’ winning entry was a video feature about WSU alumna Theresa Schulz and her organization, Women’s Enterprises International, a nonprofit group seeking to empower women in third-world countries.
Romento, a junior broadcast news and production major from
“When we were assigned this feature I immediately knew its potential,” said Padget, a junior broadcast news major from
The students estimate they logged and transcribed more than six hours of raw video including interviews. “Rachael and I both have a passion, and realize how profound an impact the media can have on society,” said Romento.
“They worked very hard,” said Kari Watkins, adjunct faculty in communication and producer of “Face2Face,” the program for which the piece was produced. “They just kept improving the product,” she said. “They even told me that they were driven by what they felt was their responsibility to doing justice to this compelling story.”
Face2Face, a television magazine show produced at WSU, airs on several broadcast and cable channels. According to Watkins the video pieces in the show are shot, written and edited by students and often focus on how different the world would be without the work of WSU researchers, students and alumni.
The students said producing “Teaching a Woman to Fish” taught them many valuable lessons in addition to feature editing. “Being a part of this experience has taught me a lot about how to face challenges and how hard work can really pay off,” said Romento. “Theresa’s passion for her organization comes across well on camera. She is an inspiring and amazing person.”
“It is not a ‘hand-out’ organization,” said Padget. “Theresa strives to make these women self-sustaining ‑ give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish; but in this case she’s involved in teaching women. Women’s Enterprises also teaches business principles, so the women can bring an income to their families. The impact WE has made is both direct and indirect. These women are left encouraged and in turn reach out to neighboring communities. Meaning these women are paying forward and creating a ripple effect. It is an uplifting story that needs to be told,” said Padget.
For more information visit:
Women Enterprises, https://www.upcmissiongroups.org/
American Women in Radio and Television, https://www.awrt.org/
Edward R. Murrow School of Communication, https://communication.wsu.edu/
Cristina E. Romento (left) and Rachel Padget (right) review their video, “Teaching a Woman to Fish.”
