March 5, 2012

Student video takes 3rd place in major contest

 Keith Sutterfield

Watch the video

A video produced by a team of Eastern Illinois University students placed third behind only Princeton and Harvard in the International District Energy Association’s first campus energy video contest.

The video, produced by Communication Studies major Keith Sutterfield of Effingham (above on right), along with fellow students Wesley Smith of Chicago (above left) and Bobson Mercier of Ft. Myers, Fla. (above center), was chosen over entries from Dartmouth College, Texas A&M and the University of Connecticut.

“We congratulate these students in bringing EIU into the same league as the Ivy League schools in the nation,” said Ryan Siegel, EIU’s campus energy and sustainability coordinator.

Gary Reed, director of Facilities Planning and Management, formally accepted the award on behalf of the students during the association’s annual Campus Energy Conference, held earlier this month in Washington, D.C.  The award included a framed certificate and a cash prize of $100.

The video competition was sponsored by the IDEA to promote student engagement in distributed energy concepts and applications.  Student submissions were judged by the IDEA board for content and communications effectiveness in delivery of the focal message.

Sutterfield said that, while none of the three students had a lot of knowledge about Eastern’s Renewable Energy Center, they thought it would make a great subject for a video.  The three men compiled a list of people who were involved with the plan and contacted them about interviews.

“The whole process took several weeks to complete,” he said.

He commended Michael Babcock, a graphic designer with CATS, who “served as a great mentor to us all.”

The same video took first place in the Educational / Demonstration category in last fall's EIU Video Challenge.