Three SJMC Students awarded Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation Scholarships

On February 22, three SJMC students, Oliver Gerharz, Ray Krisch and Joey Bonadonna, were selected by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation (WBAF) to receive their WBA Student Scholarship at the WBA Student Forum at Lambeau Field. The WBA Student Scholarships are awarded each year to students studying broadcasting in Wisconsin.

All of the recipients have gained experience and excelled as members of the student-run radio station WSUM. WSUM General Manager Kelsey Brannan has worked closely with the three winners and seen them develop into strong storytellers and journalists.

“I am immensely proud of Oliver, Ray, and Joey for being awarded three of four scholarships offered by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association,” Brannan said. “WSUM is a learning laboratory for UW-Madison students to develop and refine skills in journalism and broadcasting, and it thrives because of the sort of talent and creativity that these three students exemplify in their work. Each is incredibly deserving of this hard-earned recognition from WBA’s competitive statewide scholarship program.”

SJMC junior Bonadonna has worked at UW-Madison’s student-run radio station WSUM 91.7 FM covering several UW athletic events and has served as the play-by-play announcer for the IFL’s Green Bay Blizzard and as a press box assistant for the Green Bay Packers.

“I am incredibly honored to receive this recognition from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and it would not be possible without the opportunities I have been afforded by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication,” Bonadonna said.

SJMC sophomore Gerharz applies the skills learned in his SJMC classes while working at three local radio stations and a student newspaper. He currently produces a weekly interview show for WSUM, engineers on the weekends for Wisconsin Public Radio and produces a weekly campus news segment between community radio station WORT and student newspaper The Daily Cardinal. Gerharz explained that winning this award has solidified the idea that all the time and effort he has been putting into his reporting has been worth it.

“It’s such an honor to be selected for this year’s WBA Foundation Scholarship,” Gerharz said. “It feels like the work that I’ve been putting in at radio stations around Madison, especially at WSUM, is really being seen.”

Gerharz, Kirsch and Bonadonna have grown significantly as journalists during their time in the SJMC, but they explained their growth has not been an independent journey, but rather with the teaching and support of others in the field. Multiple SJMC faculty members have impacted the winner’s career progression and helped them achieve their goals.

SJMC senior Kirsch has made every effort to be as involved as possible both on and off campus. They have served as a reporter and talk director for WSUM as well as a staff writer for The Daily Cardinal, production director and fiction editor of the Madison Journal of Literary Criticism, poetry editor at The Madison Review and culture editorial assistant at MODA Magazine. Kirsch credits Brannan and Professor Sue Robinson as the most influential in their journalistic growth.

“Reporting right now is a stressful time, especially for new reporters,” Kirsch said. “Both Kelsey and Sue have reminded me to lean on my community and to remember my values as a reporter and a human.”

Distinguished emeritus teaching faculty Pat Hastings has been especially impactful to Bonadonna’s journey as a journalist.

“In the SJMC, I have been able to work particularly closely with Pat Hastings, my J335 professor. She has inspired me to not only find what I’m passionate about in the journalism industry, but also to broaden my horizons to tell the stories I wouldn’t otherwise find myself pursuing,” Bonadonna said.

Gerharz, Kirsch and Bonadonna all have plans to continue learning and evolving as journalists as they work to accomplish their next set of goals. From Bonadonna’s aspiration to becoming a play-by-play announcer for an NFL team, to Gerharz’s goal of interviewing exceptional people on his radio show, and Kirsch working towards a career as a published author, the three will use this honor as a reminder of their accomplishments as they strive for future successes.