Meet the First Recipients of the Laura Stephenson Video in Education Scholarship

Two Duquesne University students, Jacob Leya and David Rajaski, are the first to be awarded the Laura Stephenson Video in Education Scholarship.

The scholarship was renamed to honor Stephenson, a longtime NC State employee and Mediasite advocate, who passed in October 2016. It is designed to encourage and enhance students’ higher education experiences through video.

Leya is a journalism major and Rajaski is a music technology and composition major and both students work in the Office of Classroom Technologies at Duquesne. They have used Mediasite to livestream projects such as Simulex, campus events, guest speakers and conferences.

Simulex, a simulation game, aims to enhance students’ problem-solving and crisis management skills. According to SonicFoundry, students who will likely go on to work in government agencies, etc. break into mock national decision-making teams to test how they respond to certain serious scenarios with limited information. Each team is in a different room and they hold mock press conferences to communicate with other “countries.” Those press conferences are live streamed to all the groups via Mediasite.

Behind the cameras are Leya and Rajaski, and for their hard work on projects like Simulex, were awarded the Laura Stephenson Video in Education Scholarship.

In their future careers, Leya wants to incorporate his love for music with his journalism degree, and Rajaski wants to write music for TV or film. Both will be able to use their experience with video and Mediasite to their advantage.

Here at DELTA, putting names and faces to the recipients of the first Laura Stephenson Video in Education Scholarship was important, especially for Leisa Bolles, director of media production services.

Last May at Unleash17, Bolles said of Stephenson, “The Mediasite community lost one of its greats with the passing of Laura Stephenson. In addition to being a respected voice in this community, Laura was a pioneer in academic video, an inspiring coworker, a dedicated leader in her community, and of course, a devoted wife and mother.”

Related:

SonicFoundry Scholarship Honors Laura Stephenson

2 Duquesne University Students Win the Laura Stephenson Video in Education Scholarship