Over the summer, two Waynesburg University students in the Department of Communication received Telly Awards for their work and involvement in the university’s student-run television station, Waynesburg University Community Television (WCTV). Those students are senior Megan Barry, a senior sports media major, and William Wilson, a senior electronic media major. 

Barry’s Telly Award was earned from her work in “Jacket Sports Weekly: Episode 5”, which is a show that recaps, previews, and highlights all Waynesburg athletic events throughout the week. Barry was the producer for this show during the 2023-24 school year, and she was promoted to WCTV General Manager ahead of 2024-2025.

“It was definitely one of my goals to win this award for sure. In all honesty I was shocked I even won. I am very hard on myself so I never think the work I do is enough, but it was nice to see that my hard work paid off for the better,” Barry said.

Barry also gave thanks to people who have supported her throughout her journey.

“I thank God for the confidence he placed in my heart to even produce… I would also like to thank my mom and dad for watching every show I produced, even though I wasn’t actually on camera… I would also like to thank my number one supporter, Logan Lepiscopo, for hiring me to produce JSW and always being there for me through the years,” Barry said.

Jayden Hawk, who helps out with WCTV and is Waynesburg University’s video production services technician, thought that the awards were 100% deserved.

“I think this episode was another example of what we’re good at,” Hawk said.“Throughout that ‘Jacket Sports Weekly’ episode, we had great hosts, panelists and overall chemistry.”  

The “You Matter PSA,” a PSA that spreads awareness about suicide prevention, was Wilson’s winning entry. Throughout his time at Waynesburg, Wilson has been a key versatile component behind the scenes in WCTV, as he was a former Assistant General Manager and a former producer of one of the shows, “The Buzz.”

“I was at work when I found out that I won, and I was like ‘oh, well that’s pretty cool’,” said Wilson, who after graduation is going on to be a full-time producer/photographer at WTAJ News.

Barry and Wilson are just the most recent  students in Waynesburg’s history to receive such awards. In the 2022-23 school year, WCTV and Waynesburg University Sports Network (WUSN) received a combined seven awards, some of which included Telly Awards for student entries. 

“I think we did some of our best work last year in some cases, but that’s not considering the thought of someone judging a finished product,” Hawk said.

We will  see what is in store for WCTV in 2024-2025, as the shows will start to be recorded on Tuesday, Sept. 3.