Broadcast Graduate Adjusts Focus on Helping Others organization in a developing country.” She plans on using the scholarship funds to purchase equipment to start her own video production company. In the weeks before her graduation, Shoaf was pleased with the strides she had made in her time at JU. “Looking back, I’m proud and satisfied with my accomplishments. Very exhausted, but happy,” Shoaf said. “I wouldn’t change a thing or have gone to any other school. That wouldn’t have made me the person I am today.” Heather Shoaf ’07, won another in a list of accolades for her work at JU’s Dolphin Channel. In June, the Florida Association of Broadcasters awarded her with the LeRoy Collins Memorial Scholarship. This wasn’t the first time Shoaf’s work has been lauded. The Florida Associated Press Broadcast division honored her three years in a row. She won first place this year in the “Best Long Light Feature” category for her documentary The Philippines: A Journey to Remember. Shoaf also earned first place in “Best Long Hard
News” in both 2005 and 2006 for Katie’s Light and Harbor of Hope. Her trip to the Philippines in the summer of 2006 inspired not only her documentary, but also her long-term career ideals. Spending a month there doing charity work and taking a social work class, she saw the opportunity to bring along her equipment and record her experiences. “It really gave me a focus for my career. I plan to use video to help the less fortunate,” Shoaf said. “I’d like to work for a non-profit or a faith-based
The Florida native saw her choice of attending JU as a major part of achieving her goals. “The small classroom environment allowed for hands-on experience and needed instruction by professors,” she said. “They actually care and help us succeed in our goals.” Shoaf served as the station manager for the Dolphin Channel during the past two years and as an executive producer the year before. Her efforts landed her an internship at WJCT in Jacksonville and her work was so well received that she turned it into a full-time position.
Student Film Earns Best Picture and Special Effects Honors Jacksonville University student film Slow Motion Sickness was named Best Picture at the Campus MovieFest Florida finale in April in Orlando. The film went on to compete in the National Grand Finale of the world’s largest student film festival in Atlanta later that month. The stop-motion film was also awarded the Golden Tripod Award for best special effects. It was made by JU students Stephen Krain, Pete
Mynsburg, Micky Lacardi and David Jones. Nearly 250 student teams from JU, University of Tampa, Rollins College and the University of Central Florida participated in the competition. Students created short movies in the span of one week, filming around the state and editing the pieces using the training and latest technology provided by Campus MovieFest.
The top 16 films competing for the Florida-level awards were played at the Plaza Theatre. The evening’s top movies then moved on to compete against those made by nearly 30,000 students nationwide in the Campus MovieFest National Grand Finale. After winning so many accolades early, Slow Motion Sickness did not place at the national event. Fall 2007 19