April 13, 2018

Scholarships and awards to be presented to SIU Cinema and Photography students

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. — A total of 18 outstanding students in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Department of Cinema and Photography are receiving scholarships and awards for the spring 2018 semester. The awards are presented at Honors Day ceremonies April 14 in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts.

Here is a list of scholarship winners, by hometown.  Where available, the listing contains the winner’s name, year in school, major, scholarship name, the amount, and a bit of background on the award.

ILLINOIS

  • Aurora: Sarah Knauf, senior, cinema. Cinema Outstanding Senior Award, $220. The award is presented to the overall best student in filmmaking.
  • Aviston: Adam Holbrook, senior, photography, Charles Swedlund Award, $500. Sponsored by alumni, the award honors Professor Charles Swedlund, who taught at SIU for 29 years, and was highly regarded by students in the areas of experimental and non-silver photography.
  • Carbondale: Kymberli Roberson, senior, cinema, Loren Cocking Animation Award, $220. Established in honor of Loren Cocking, who taught film production and animation courses at the university from 1976 through 2002, the award goes to an outstanding student filmmaker for accomplishment in animation the past year.
  • Chicago: Kennedy Joseph, senior, cinema, Cinema Outstanding Scholar Award, $220. The award is presented to a student who has excelled in film history, theory and criticism.
  • Chicago: Martha Osornio-Ruiz, senior, cinema, Lilly Boruszkowski Outstanding Female Cinema Student Award, $295. Presented to an outstanding female cinema student, the award honors professor and filmmaker Lilly Boruszkowski, who taught film production, documentary production and advanced editing at SIU for 31 years.
  • Freeburg: Nick Wilkerson, junior, photography, David A. Gilmore Award, $500. Sponsored by alumni, the award honors David Gilmore, who taught at SIU for 31 years, and was highly regarded for documentary photography and sensitometry.
  • Highland: Miranda Munguia, senior, photography, Buzard Memorial Scholarship, $1,500. Presented to an outstanding photography major, the scholarship is in memory of SIU photography alumnus Von Ray Buzard, who had more than 30 years of professional photography experience prior to his death in July 2015.
  • Stokes Photography Award, Best of Show, $300. The award honors Rip Stokes, an Anna native and U.S. Army Air Force World War II veteran, who passed away in 2015, Stokes served a university photographer and director of then-Photo Services; many of his photos of SIU and the region were published nationwide, and he was the first non-athlete inducted into the SIU Athletic Hall of Fame. The award is based on photography work submitted to the annual cinema and photography student Cedarhurst Photography Exhibition in Mount Vernon.
  • Lawrenceville: Stephanie Hill, junior, photography, Photography Outstanding Scholar Award, $220. The award is presented to the most outstanding student in photography history, theory and criticism.
  • Lombard: Lucas Schroeder, senior, cinema, New Media Production Award, $220. The award goes to the most outstanding students in the area of New Media.
  • Normal: Noah Oehler, senior, cinema, Gary Kolb Creative Media Arts Scholarship, $240. Named for Gary Kolb, SIU emeritus professor of photography and former department chair and dean. Kolb taught at SIU from 1979 through 2012.
  • Peoria: Giovanni Galindo, junior, cinema, Steve James Filmmaking Award, $350. The award, established by alumnus and independent filmmaker Steve James in 1995, goes to an outstanding minority filmmaking student.
  • Peoria: Mark Nycz, junior, photography, Paul Harum Memorial Scholarship, $220. The scholarship was founded by Paul Harum’s family in his memory.
  • Spring Valley: Louis Washkowiak, senior, photography, Stokes Photography Award, runner-up, $200. The award honors Rip Stokes, an Anna native and U.S. Army Air Force World War II veteran, who passed away in 2015, Stokes served a university photographer and director of then-Photo Services; many of his photos of SIU and the region were published nationwide, and he was the first non-athlete inducted into the SIU Athletic Hall of Fame. The award is based on photography work submitted to the annual cinema and photography student Cedarhurst Photography Exhibition in Mount Vernon. Kodak Imaging Award, $2,000. Sponsored by Eastman Kodak Co., the award recognizes and encourages the best all-around photography major student who is a graduating senior. Award criteria include GPA, photo coursework, portfolio review, creative and technical ability, initiative, extracurricular activity, communications ability, leadership ability and faculty recommendations.
  • Waukegan: Yenitza Melgoza, senior, photography, Weston Spirit Award, $800. Robert and Patricia Dennis established the Weston Spirit Award in 2016 to support and recognize an outstanding photography student at SIU.

ARKANSAS 

  • Batesville: Bailey Medley, junior, cinema, Robert Dennis Filmmaking Award, $1,900. The award honors noted cinema and photography alumnus Robert Dennis, who has served as director of sales and marketing at CFI, a major film lab in Hollywood specializing in large format motion picture film. The award goes to a student in cinematography whose work is an outstanding creative expression of vision through the use of light.
  • Little Rock: Daniel Robbins, senior, cinema, New Media Production Award, $220. The New Media Production goes to the most outstanding student or students in the area of New Media.

INDIANA

  • Valparaiso: Daniel Vincent, senior, cinema, Cinema Outstanding Scholar Award, $220. The award is presented to a student who has excelled in film history, theory and criticism.

CANADA

  • Montreal: Liane Tatigian, senior, cinema, Cinema Production Award, $220. The Cinema Production Award is presented to a student who has excelled in filmmaking.