Students and staff in the East Valley Institute of Technology’s radio/audio production program were recently nominated for 14 awards in the 2022-23 John Drury National High School Radio Awards.

The nominations are for the students’ work with 88.7FM The Pulse, EVIT’s student-run radio station that is the centerpiece of the radio/audio production program, according to a release.

They were nominated as finalists in 11 different categories. The winners are be announced during an awards ceremony on Nov. 4.

• And the local nominees are:
•  EVIT 2023 graduate Aiden Mohr was nominated three times, for Best Newscast, Best Sportscast & Broadcaster of the Year. To be eligible for the Broadcaster of the Year award, students had to submit an entry in each of the news, sports & DJ/specialty music show categories.
• 2023 graduate Rebecca Freeman was nominated in the Best Public Affairs Show category for her “Public Pulse” show that spotlighted the local nonprofit group “Amplify Voices.” Freeman is also a finalist for Broadcaster of the Year.
• 2023 grads Alex Carlson & Bianca Grodecki are finalists for Broadcaster of the Year. Grodecki is also a finalist for Best Featured News Story (about a key resignation at Google over AI).
• 2023 alum Gus Martinez was named as a finalist in the Best Promo category for his EVIT Expo promo.
• Three current EVIT students were also nominated, with the team of Adam Beadle & Jason Richey named finalists in the Best Sports Talk category, while Nick Shultz’s production about Veterans/PTSD is up for Best PSA.
• 88.7 FM/The Pulse was nominated in the Best Use of Social Media category for its “4th Annual Senior Salute” on Instagram.
• The station’s website, www.887thepulse.com, is a finalist for Best Website.
• Dave Juday, radio/audio production instructor, was nominated for Best Radio Station Advisor.

This is the fifth year that EVIT students have competed in the John Drury High School Radio Awards, a national competition presented by North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and WONC-FM. In the previous four competitions, EVIT’s Radio/Audio Production program has won 11 awards, including four in 2020-21 when 88.7 FM/The Pulse was named Best High School Radio Station in the nation.

Radio/audio production is one of 50 career training programs offered for high school students and adults at two central EVIT campuses in Mesa and Apache Junction High School. This year, EVIT has a record enrollment of approximately 6,000 students. For more information, go to evit.com.