Two mass communication students won awards in the 2021 College Broadcasters, Inc. (CBI) National Student Production Awards.

Recent graduate Christian Gaffner is the 2021 winner for the TV Pilot category with his story "Carl and Walter," while senior Arely Chavez won third place in the Short Film Non-Fiction category with her feature story "22 Years: A Northern Journey."

“I have learned so much throughout the four years I've been at Texas Wesleyan. With the help of my professors and the motivation to continue my education, I can happily say I am proud of myself,” said Chavez. “However, I consider the award to be my father's rather than mine, because without his story and the sacrifices he had to make, I would not be in this position nor would I be about to finish my education.”

The two Visual Media Festival winning stories were produced in spring 2021 as class projects for Dr. Ngozi Akinro’s Advanced Digital Production class and Mobile Production class.