Students from SUTV took home two collegiate Emmy awards from the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences on Oct. 13 in Philadelphia. 

“Mansfield at Shippensburg Men’s Basketball” won in the sports/live event category and “Brass Camp” won in the arts and entertainment/cultural affairs category, making this SUTV’s fourth and fifth Emmy wins.

SU was just one of three Pennsylvania schools that took home awards, alongside Temple and Drexel Universities.

Avery Quinn, SUTV’s sports director and live events producer, directed “Mansfield at Shippensburg Men’s Basketball,” which first aired on Pennsylvania Cable Network and was broadcast state wide. 

As director, Quinn was responsible for organizing the crew and talent that helped create the package, making graphics, preparing and conducting interviews with players, writing talking points, collecting player research and editing. 

“I really, really wanted to do well, wanted to put the best possible talent that I could in there and put as much content that I could in terms of graphics and interviews. And it did go well, but that was one of the most stressful games I’ve ever done,” Quinn said.

Quinn said winning a collegiate Emmy has been a goal of his for a long time because former SUTV sports directors and SU alumni, Zach Salsgiver and Josh Charles, always talked about winning one.

“I wanted to, kind of, not surpass them, but I wanted to be like them because I always worked the football games with them,” Quinn said. 

“Brass Camp,” independently produced and reported by SU alumnus Marshall Keely, highlighted the week-long Leonardtown, Maryland, summer camp for siblings of childhood cancer patients. The camp is a program from non-profit Special Love Inc.

Brass Camp holds a special place in Keely’s heart. Keely first discovered the camp in 2007 after his brother was diagnosed with cancer the year before. In 2009, Keely attended as a camper before going back as a counselor-in-training a few years later. He has been a counselor at the camp for the past six years.

“Completing this piece alone proved quite the challenge and gave me a glimpse into life as a multimedia journalist,” Keely said. “Spending the entire week at Brass Camp fulfilling my duties as a counselor while simultaneously trying to coordinate time for interviews and capture special moments throughout the week was a challenge as well.”

As an independent producer and reporter for the piece, Keely said he spent long hours editing the 128 gigabytes worth of footage in the Rowland Hall editing lab on campus, trying to perfect his package and do the camp justice. 

“I had to do everything. I had to shoot. I had to edit. I had to interview. I had to write. I had to figure it all out on my own,” Keely said. “I also learned how to push myself to get things done and how rewarding hard work can be when you arrive at a finished product you’re proud of.”

Going into the awards ceremony, the students had their fair share of nerves. Both Quinn and Keely even tried convincing themselves that there was no way that they would win. Keely was up against three other packages from teams at Temple and Drexel, and Quinn and his team were up against Robert Morris University, who had beat SUTV in the sports category for the past three years.

“When I heard the ‘M’ I thought they were just going to say “Men’s ice hockey” or “Morris” so I just waved it away and was about to go turn around and start eating again, but then I heard “at Shippensburg” and jumped up. I was really, really excited but also partially because I wasn’t expecting it,” Quinn said.

“I really haven’t had time to fully process the significance of winning the Emmy for this package. I jumped up right away and couldn’t keep the smile off my face. I couldn’t believe it. I had just won an award for a package highlighting one of the most important things in my life,” Keely said.

Both students are grateful of the people who helped make a collegiate Emmy possible.

Quinn thanked his team, but specifically wanted to highlight co-producer and director Josh Charles, color commentator Jake Gillespie and Matt Trust, who was responsible for the play-by-play. 

Additionally, Quinn thanked Isabella Marcellino, who contributed audio, Gillian Mencken and Mike Smith who help Quinn with “pretty much every live event,” and SU Director of Broadcasting Mike Gardner.

“If you work hard, good things will happen,” Quinn said.

Keely thanked his fellow SUTV counterparts, his family, his girlfriend and Special Love Inc.

“The whole thing is still surreal to me,” Keely said. “I’m grateful. I’m still excited, still overwhelmed by the fact that I receive[d] such an award, but most of all, I’m grateful to the people that made it possible.”

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