Fordham University was well represented at MTVu’s annual Woodie Awards ceremony at Roseland Ballroom on Nov. 8.
The awards honor the best music videos of the year as chosen by college students around the country. One of the judges for best video of the year was Jennie Nau, editor-in-chief of the Fordham College at Lincoln Center student newspaper, The Observer. Nau appeared on camera for one of the pre-event judging sessions.
Yamil Alvarado, is in his last year at the Graduate School of Communications, was one of the stars of the show. Not only did he present the band Say Anything with the best video award for “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too,” but MTVu cameras documented his pre-show preparation.
“I went around the city and bought a couple of t-shirts,” he said. “I was interviewed and asked about my music tastes and what I studied at Fordham and so forth.
“I also gave viewers a backstage tour. After the awards ceremony I headed off to the after parties where I got to hang out briefly with Say Anything.”
Lara Hanson FCRH ’04 GSAS ‘06, university relations and digital development coordinator for College Media Network, recruited the Fordham students. She also got a pleasant surprise on the day of the taping, when she met Katrina Dibbini and Katie Knott, interns who manned the media table.
Dibbini, a communications and film major and theater minor, found herself pressed into service as a publicist. In addition to checking the media in, she walked the talent down the red carpet.
“I had a really great experience at the Woodies,” said Dibbini. “I learned a lot about press. This was my first hands-on experience (to see) how publicists do their jobs.”
Knott agreed. “It was cool being on the front lines,” she said.
Another Fordham alumnus, Sam Linder, is a production coordinator at MTV.
MTVu is available on 730 campuses around the country and features programming from MTV and CBS News. The channel reaches more than 6.5 million students.
The ceremony was broadcast on MTVu on Nov. 15.
