Student makes finalist spot in video contest
Joanna Huff, a senior communication major, has been named a finalist in a nationwide video competition for her videos that feature University of Indianapolis’ Homecoming and Midnight Breakfast traditions. Sponsored by the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA), the “Your Best Campus Tradition Video Competition” challenges students to capture a campus tradition that showcases school spirit at its best.
Huff decided to enter the contest after she had filmed Homecoming as a member of the Homecoming Committee. She then taped the 15-year tradition of the finals week Midnight Breakfast, an event that Campus Program Board President Julie Wehmiller described as one of the university’s “most unique” traditions. Although Huff enjoyed filming the breakfast, she found it odd to be on the outside, rather than helping organize the event as she has in the past.
The Midnight Breakfast video shows long lines of students eagerly awaiting breakfast, the live entertainment featured during the night and the celebrations of hungry students finally entering the cafeteria. The Homecoming video spans the various events of Homecoming Week, from the pep rally featuring the canal dyed red, to the football game. Both videos have a good dose of school spirit, whether it is heard in the shouts of “Go Hounds!” or seen in the smiles of the students.
Huff received word that she was a finalist in the competition in mid-January. At first, she was unsure as to which of her videos had been selected, but she soon learned that both of her videos had advanced in the contest. Her videos featuring Homecoming and Midnight Breakfast represented two of the three videos selected for the final vote.
Huff was excited about this unlikely accomplishment and her odds for winning the contest, but she was unsure how to determine which video to promote in hopes of winning.
It wasn’t a simple decision for Huff, who knew that the contest strategy would dictate that she choose one video to promote. The complicating factor was in the prizes that the contest boasted for the winning video’s campus, specifically a monetary award of $1,000 to go toward the tradition highlighted in the winning video. Ultimately, she decided to promote the Homecoming video.
Even though Homecoming is a tradition that nearly every campus shares, Huff said that UIndy’s celebration is unique because it keeps growing every year.
Wehmiller, Campus Program Board president, said that if the video wins, the money will make Homecoming more spectacular for students.
Regardless of the outcome, Huff is happy that her videos are visible and she is a finalist, even though this is not her first video contest success.
“It’s been a video year for me,” said Huff, who won second place in the UIndy Dog Bowl Video Challenge this school year, along with senior teammate Garrison King. In fact, Huff used the handheld video camera she won from the Dog Bowl competition to film the videos she submitted to the current competition.
According to the NACA website, winners will be announced at the 2011 NACA National Convention, which Huff will attend from Feb. 19-23. If one of her videos is chosen, Huff will win the privilege of presenting a session at next year’s NACA National Convention and writing an article for Campus Activities Programming magazine, as well as the monetary award for UIndy. NACA also will grant three complimentary spots at the 2012 NACA National Convention to the school of the winning video.
For Huff, the videos are more than a contest with winners and losers. She describes herself as “video-crazy,” stressing the importance of student organizations documenting their events on camera. Creating videos of the events is just an extension of her advocacy for campus programming.
“It’s not just about the education,” Huff said, “It’s about the experience.”
