Applications for the Fast Forward competition closed March 31. Now, judges are narrowing down the submissions to find student videos that will be presented at the Chancellor’s Inauguration April 11.

To participate in the Fast Forward competition, students pitched videos detailing potential projects they may pursue, if chosen. Up to 12 winners will receive a grant of up to $1,500.

Sixty-six entries were submitted, said Elizabeth D. Liddy, dean of the School of Information Studies.

“Winners will be told on Monday, April 7, in order to give them enough time to prepare their in-person pitches at the inauguration event on Friday the 11,” said J.D. Ross, the communications director of the iSchool.

The showcase for the competition will be held on April 11 at 2 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium. A panel of 10–12 judges, whose names will remain confidential, pick the winners, said Julie Walas, the undergraduate program manager at the iSchool. The panel includes faculty, staff and students.

“A few categories the videos will be judged on include the strength of the idea, creativity and originality, and whether the idea is feasible,” Walas said. “It needs to have an impact on the campus and community.”

The 12 winners will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas at the inauguration. Mentors from the entrepreneurship department in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management will help the students refine their presentations, Liddy said.

“I think it’s tremendous that the chancellor has thought to include students on his inauguration day,” she said.

Sierra Pizzola, a freshman advertising major, and her alternative spring break group applied for the grant for funding and recognition.

“We’re not an official student organization so we don’t receive funding from the school,” she said. “Making the video means we get people talking, we generate interest. We want to show people who we are, what we’re doing and how they can help.”

Pizzola and her group’s video focuses on issues such as homelessness and hunger. She said her Spring Break trip to Washington, D.C. and speaking to a homeless person influenced her positively. She has no doubt that this movement will influence others.

“We see it as opportunity. We have been given the opportunity to educate and inspire people and we are giving them the opportunity to give back, help out and become passionate about something,” she said.

Walas said she hopes to see many students at the inauguration, supporting their classmates during the Fast Forward segment.

“After the winners present at the inauguration, they will help lead the implementation of their idea, including the promise of the chancellor,” she said.

By the end of December, the winning ideas will be implemented with the help of $1,500, Walas said.

Said Liddy: “This is something that demonstrates how SU students can have an impact on the university or world as a whole.”

Published on April 2, 2014 at 11:58 pm