Four scholarships will be given out during the WBA Student Forum at Lambeau Field on Feb. 22 to students studying broadcasting in Wisconsin. Learn more about the WBA Student Scholarship program and apply here.
The recipients are:
Oliver Gerharz
Oliver Gerharz is the 2024 WBA Foundation Scholarship recipient.
Gerharz is attending UW-Madison and majoring in journalism. He is planning to graduate in spring of 2027.
His career goal is to work in radio production, focusing on researching stories and the editing stage of producing audio content.
In addition to his responsibilities as a student, Gerharz works at three local radio stations and a student newspaper. He produces a weekly interview show for college radio WSUM. He engineers on the weekends for Wisconsin Public Radio. And he produces a weekly campus news segment, a collaboration between community radio WORT and student newspaper The Daily Cardinal, where he is also the editorial director for the paper’s podcasts.
His supporters say Gerharz is already living the life of a broadcast journalist. One wrote, “Oliver’s record clearly shows how seriously he takes these opportunities to gain hands-on experience.” He’s described as curious and actively seeking out new opportunities.
Ray Kirsch
Ray Kirsch is the 2024 Morgan Murphy Media Scholarship recipient.
Kirsch is attending UW-Madison and majoring in journalism and English. They are planning to graduate this spring.
Their career goal is to work in editorial or audio/video production, preferably in publishing or broadcasting.
Kirsch was very involved on and off campus, having served as a reporter and talk director for WSUM student radio, 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. They’ve also published work with the Madison Public Library Foundation, Illumination Journal, and Brittle Paper.
Kirsch is described as a leader who “makes challenges approachable for their team by rolling up their sleeves and leading by example.” One of their instructors said Kirsch, “is one of those rare individuals who continually seeks out new challenges and looks for ways to increase their skills and improve the overall performance in anything they are doing.”
BellaRain Darvanian
BellaRain Darvanian is the 2024 Howard Gernetzke Scholarship recipient.
Darvanian is attending UW-Green Bay and is majoring in audio production and music performance. She is planning to graduate in the spring of 2027.
Her career goal is to find healthier ways for the world to share information in the media industry.
Darvanian graduated from high school at the age of 16 and has been working at Seehafer Broadcasting in Manitowoc as an announcer on WLKN.
She’s described as having a work ethic “like no other” as she juggles multiple jobs on top of schoolwork. One of her instructors wrote, “Ms. Darvanian is an excellent student with a high level of intelligence. She absorbs material quickly and asks specific questions that reveal how close she is to understanding difficult concepts entirely on her own.” She’s also described as self-motivated, respectful, teachable, helpful to her peers, and having a constant desire to improve.
Joey Bonadonna
Joey Bonadonna is the 2024 David L. Nelson Scholarship recipient.
Bonadonna is attending UW-Madison and majoring in Journalism. He is planning to graduate in spring 2026.
His career goal is to become a play-by-play announcer for an NFL team.
Bonadonna has been very involved in broadcasting outside the classroom. He served as the play-by-play announcer for the IFL’s Green Bay Blizzard since spring 2021. He also works as a press box assistant for the Green Bay Packers as a part of their gameday staff at every home game. During my time at WSUM and Big Ten Plus, he’s broadcast several Wisconsin athletic events, both on campus in Madison and around other locations across the country like Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Iowa City. In summer 2021, he spent time with the Green Bay Rockers of the Northwoods League, as part of their television broadcast crew and will be their TV play-by-play voice this summer. In 2020, he founded Triton Sports Network to broadcast Notre Dame Academy athletic events through COVID-19 restrictions.
Bonadonna is described as versatile, talented, incredibly motivated, humble, and hard-working.
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