Television Academy Foundation Announces Nominees for 40th College Television Awards

The Television Academy Foundation today announced nominees for the 40 th College Television Awards, which recognizes and rewards excellence in student-produced programs annually, as well as the recipient of the 2020 Loreen Arbus Focus on Disability Scholarship.

Twenty-five nominees were chosen from over 374 student-produced productions submitted by 112 colleges and universities nationwide. Designed to emulate the Emmys ® , student entries are judged by Television Academy members. Three student-produced projects are nominated in each of eight categories: drama, comedy, animation, nonfiction, promotional, news, sports and variety. There will be one winner in each category.

In addition, the Foundation announced the recipient of the Loreen Arbus Focus on Disability Scholarship, which recognizes a student-produced project that best portrays disability topics and issues or helps emerging artists with a disability gain recognition. Loreen Arbus is a two-time Emmy nominee and leading advocate for people with disabilities. The winning piece for 2020 is Fort Irwin , by American Film Institute students Quinn Else and Marc Tarczali, about an amputee veteran with PTSD. This is the 10 th year for this award, provided by the Loreen Arbus Foundation, which has established and funds scholarships that both enhance and elevate social consciousness around key societal issues.

Winners in the competition will be announced by television stars at the 40 th College Television Awards ceremony on Saturday, March 21, 2020, at the Television Academy's Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Each winning project in the eight categories will receive a $3,000 cash prize.

In addition to the red carpet awards show, the nominees will take part in a three-day Nominee Summit hosted by the Television Academy Foundation. The summit, designed to enhance professional development, will include set visits, panel discussions and networking opportunities with industry executives, Television Academy leadership, members and Foundation alumni.

"Congratulations to this year's nominees who have been recognized by the Television Academy for their exceptional student work," said Madeline Di Nonno, chair of the Television Academy Foundation. "The Foundation is focused on helping pave the way for students from all backgrounds who aspire to careers in media. By showcasing extraordinary young talent from across the country through the College Television Awards, we help jumpstart the careers of future content creators and industry leaders."

The nominees for the 40 th College Television Awards , representing 18 colleges and universities, are listed below:

Animation Series :

Don't Croak (Ringling College of Art + Design)

Daun Kim, Producer/Director/Writer

Papito (School of Visual Arts)

Sarika Persuad, Producer/Director/Writer

Kenny Rosen, Producer/Director/Writer

why z? (School of Visual Arts)

Asher Horowitz, Producer/Director/Writer

Comedy Series :

Balk (Columbia University)

Ben Gottlieb, Writer

Jennifer Kaiser, Producer

Mary McCune, Producer

Gabriel Wilson, Director/Writer

Snowball (Chapman University)

Amber Okeh, Writer

Paul Rivet, Director

Brittany Roker, Producer

They Won't Last (American Film Institute)

Richard Bailey, Producer

Brandon Gale, Writer

Portlynn Tagavi, Director/Writer

Commercial, PSA or Promo :

Crocs - Rock Them Crocs (Brigham Young University)

Michael Hanks, Director/Writer

Peter Molnar, Producer

Derrick Trotman, Director

Miguel - Reebok (Brigham Young University)

Jake Knudsen, Writer

Paul Monk, Writer

Pablo Perez, Producer

Bentley Rawle, Director

No Shame (Savannah College of Art and Design)

Alice Aguiar, Writer/Director

Shayain Lakhani, Producer

Victoria Williams, Producer/Writer

Drama Series :

Balloon (American Film Institute)

Christina Cha, Producer

Jeremy Merrifield, Director/Writer

Dave Testa, Writer

Under Darkness (University of Southern California)

Nick Benjamin, Producer

Michael Orion Downing, Producer

Caroline Friend, Producer/Director/Writer

Merissa Jane Lee, Producer

Welcome Back (University of Southern California)

Roy Arwas, Producer

Tiffany Kontoyiannis, Producer/Director/Writer

Karly Perez-Arevalo, Producer

News :

Al Dia: A Border Emergency (California State University, Fullerton)

Viviana Borroel, Producer/Writer

Jessica Cardenas, Producer/Writer

Xochilt Lagunas, Producer/Writer

Rita La Vau, Producer/Writer

Maricela Perez, Producer/Writer

Tania Thorne, Producer/Writer

Dominic Torres, Producer/Director/Writer

Regina Yurrita, Producer/Writer

Centre County Report in Puerto Rico (Pennsylvania State University)

Maddie Biertempfel, Writer

Danielle Dindak, Writer

Alley Lutter, Writer

Caroline Pimentel Santana, Writer

Tom Shively, Producer/Director

UMTV's NewsVision: MSD Massacre One Year Later (University of Miami)

Madison Brown, Writer

Rebekah Chung, Producer

Ben Ezzy, Director

Tommy Fletcher, Producer

Erika Orstad, Writer

Breana Ross, Writer

Justin Stevens, Producer

Jenna Weiss, Producer

Nonfiction or Reality Series :

Bags to Butterflies (Michigan State University)

Olivia Hoover, Producer

Kendall Westfield, Director/Writer

Dirty Business (University of California, Berkeley)

Yutao Chen, Producer/Director/Writer

Francesca Fenzi, Producer/Writer

One Nation Under Guns (Ithaca College)

William Adams, Writer

Olivia Forker, Producer/Writer

Josh Jacobius, Producer

McKinleigh Lair, Producer/Director

Meghan Mazzella, Writer

Danielle Schear, Producer/Writer

Sports :

Husky Mag Top 50 (Saint Cloud State University)

Sam Goetzinger, Writer

Parker Kayser, Producer

Greg Spaeth, Director

SportsDesk (University of Miami)

Madison Brown, Writer

Valerie Ferrante, Producer

Amanda Fuentes, Producer

Luis Gonzalez, Producer

David Perez, Writer

Justin Stevens, Director

Sports Xtra (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Adrian Walker, Producer/Director/Writer

Variety :

The 38 th Annual EVVY Awards (Emerson College)

Hayley Broderick, Director

Emma Guilianti, Producer

Madeleine Hoffman, Producer

Brennan Kellner, Writer

Grace Leuper, Producer

Kassiani Mamalakis, Producer

Samantha Yates, Writer

CUSS*: The Columbia University (Low Budget) Sketch Show (Columbia University)

Marco Balestri, Producer

Xanader Browne, Director/Writer

Dallas Koelling, Producer

Amy Muller, Producer

Joey Rupcich, Writer

Maya Sibul, Director

Zoe Sottile, Producer

Thursday Night Live (Hofstra University)

Robin Deering, Producer

Ben Fletcher, Director

Caroline Lea, Producer

Brittany McGowan, Producer

Sean McNally, Producer

Seann Morgan, Writer

Michael O'Rourke, Producer

Sydney Pastor-Poe, Writer

Joe Reiter, Producer

Loreen Arbus Focus on Disability Scholarship Winner :

Fort Irwin (American Film Institute)

Quinn Else, Director/Writer

Marc Tarczali, Producer