By Adam Wadding
Two Trevecca students and their lives on campus débuted on a FOX 17 reality segment called, “College Experience,” on March 24 as a part of FOX’s Tennessee Mornings show.
Juniors Meredith Fitzsimons and Zach Sutton will be armed with flip cameras to record their life as a Trevecca student.
The five minute segment, which airs at 8:10 a.m. on Wednesday mornings, will highlight daily life on campus in hopes of showing an inside glimpse of what the Trevecca experience is all about.
Fitzsimons and Sutton were chosen from a pool of 25 Trevecca student applicants who had to produce a video explaining why they think they would be good for the show.
Fitzsimons, a mass communication television major was a perfect candidate for the position because of her experience of working with film and editing while attending Trevecca, said Tony Stogsdill, Trevecca’s director of institutional marketing.
“We looked for someone involved in student activities and who was a good student influence, a well rounded individual,” he said.
Sutton, a member of the Trojan baseball team and also an intern with the marketing department was a good choice to show the athletic side of campus.
Fox17 approached Stogsdill about taking part in the program that would feature Trevecca’s campus.
“We had been planning to do something similar to this only on YouTube and the Trevecca website,” said Stogsdill.
Trevecca official’s hopes the show will help spread the word about campus in a new way, rather than the traditional tactics of getting students to choose the school. By viewing campus life through the everyday lives of two normal students, officials are hoping there will be a more personal connection made with prospective students.
The students are each given a Flip camera to use for filming, and an agenda of what they should incorporate into their video for each week. For example, segments will have themes such as chapel, the radio station and dorm life.
The students won’t be paid, but will receive experience that can benefit them in their future.
“I am very excited but I still don’t really know what to expect,” said Fitzsimons. “If nothing else comes from this, I have at least learned to take any opportunity.”
The first episode premiered at 8:10 a.m. on March 24th during the Tennessee Morning’s television program. Trevecca is signed for a 13 week series, and should be aired until the end of May. If Fox’s ratings go up, another season will begin in the fall with two new students as the faces of Trevecca.
