Just last week, members of KWSC-FM and KWSCTV travelled to Seattle, Washington for the 2024 College Broadcasters, Inc. National Student Media Convention.  

The conference recognizes outstanding work done by media students from around the country. Gage Dawson, recent Wayne State College graduate and former member of KWSCTV and KWSC-FM, was fourth in the nation in the Best Video Promo category.  

“It was exciting to be recognized for my work, especially since it was in the field I want to get into,” Dawson said. “I feel like I really got to show off our program and how much I learned from the program. It was not only one of my last projects but also the culmination of a lot of learning and effort, so it was cool to see it get appreciation.” 

The conference took place over four days, with a reception kicking things off the afternoon of Oct 23. With Dawson having graduated last May, KWSC was represented by Jasmine Snyder and myself on the radio side, and Grant Ferrell and Becca Arkfeld on the TV/radio side. We were joined by radio and TV advisors, Sean Ahern and Pat Janssen.  

While the four of us students did find time to do some sightseeing, most of our time was focused on the convention and the many informational sessions. Arkfeld and Ferrell participated on a live hour at the convention, and each were on panels as speakers.  

Ferrell took part in the panel for “Small School Student Media,” and hosted a roundtable about news at the conference. “It was a little scary,” Ferrell said. “But it’s a really good way to bounce questions and ideas off other students.” 

Arkfeld was a part of the panel for “Curating the Sound of your Station.” Ahern and Janssen were also speakers, with Ahern speaking at the “Working with your Administration,” session and Janssen at “Election Night On-air Strategy.” 

Throughout the conference, I attended the “Build a Better Reel,” “Connecting with the Music Industry,” “Working with your Athletic Department,” “The Adoption of AI Across Media,” and “Connecting with the Audience” sessions, as well as a sports roundtable.  

All the while, the four of us met radio students from all over the U.S. and talked student media with them.  

“It’s always really cool to meet people who are in the same industry as you,” Ferrell said. “This year we really connected with schools from all over the country.” 

“CBI was so much fun,” Snyder said. “I loved connecting with other like-minded individuals over radio and music. I can’t wait to implement what I’ve learned into our station.”