PROVO — Brigham Young University represented Utah well with 17 students garnering nominations at the Television Academy Foundation’s 45th College Television Awards.
Often dubbed the “student Emmys,” students were nominated for five different projects in three awards categories, securing the title for most nominations from a single university in 2026, according to a release from the Television Academy Foundation.
The College Television Awards recognize “excellence, imagination and innovation” in student-produced projects from around the country. The nominations and winners are chosen by Television Academy members from more than 185 entires this year.
BYU students swept the category for commercial, PSA, or promo, clinching all three nominations and resulting in a sure win for BYU. This is the fifth year in a row BYU students have accomplished such a feat.
Mia Shumway, who graduated from BYU last April, was the writer for two of the nominated projects. She also won a College Television Award last year for a PSA she produced about the WNBA, highlighting gender equality in sports.
Her first nominated project this year was called “Ink Up. Wash Out.” Produced by Eli Rothas and directed by Kyle Gilmour, the humorous Crayola ad includes a child tattoo artist who uses Crayola markers to “ink up” her friends.
Shumway actually wrote this ad during her junior year where it sat in her files for a year. But during her senior year she was able to find the “perfect teammates” to make it with.
“I felt their skill set was perfect for it. Eli was amazing and able to draw all the tattoos on the kid and and Kyle is amazing with the dramatic, intense shots and coloring and it was exactly what we needed for this spot,” Shumway said.
Her other nominated project, “Never Leave Home,” is a humorous and heartwarming advertisement for U-Haul. It follows a family of ducks who are nervous about migrating, but realize they don’t have to worry about leaving all of their things behind.
“I live next to a duck pond and would watch the ducks all the time and be obsessed with their little inner lives and it was such an escape for my own very stressful life as a senior. So when we thought of the idea to use a family of ducks to show the story, it was just like perfect,” she said.
Shumway is grateful for director Joseph Larsen and producers Carly Garrett, Abe Tullis and Jeff Yi who helped bring the ad to life
“It’s this fun feeling between all the people in the group because you sort of trauma bonded over getting this right,” she said. “It’s fun to be recognized not just for my personal accomplishments, but just that we all got to do this together.”
The final nominated ad from BYU was “Gap: Wear With Care,” made by director Porter Christensen, writer Maren Edwards, writer and producers Jill Jackson and Taylor Slade. The heartfelt ad is a poignant reminder that the way we speak to ourselves can have generational impact.
As a professional who now works for an ad agency in New York City, Shumway said it was interesting to learn that most other ad professionals created their portfolios during graduate school.
“BYU it’s just undergrad and the ad program itself is basically portfolio school. It’s not like our whole school is dedicated to advertising, it’s just a section of a program within a college within a giant university,” she said.
Shumway said the reason BYU students are so successful in advertising is because of professors who are dedicated to creating a program that gives students space to create and gain real-world experience.
“(It’s) a very serious but fun portfolio-based program. … Rather than just learning the concepts we are actually making things,” she said.
Advertising professor Jeff Sheets said it has been so fulfilling to see his students being recognized for their exceptional work. The students come into the program with a drive, determined to cultivate their craft, he said. He is always amazed by the creativity, intelligence and hard work he sees from them.
“They have a personal drive to become and be excellent and when you combine all those things together with a program that has been built to give them opportunities — my job is to give them as many windows of opportunity and just let them fly right out because they will,” he said.
The “cherry on top” is seeing his students successfully get jobs at ad agencies around the country. He is grateful he gets to watch them follow their dreams and become a shining light that can inspire and “push the world forward.”
“The students are the reason that you get into this. They are what makes it exciting and fun and when you can help someone achieve their dreams, it’s the most rewarding and best moment ever. You help someone become what they are aspiring to be. It puts a smile on your face,” Sheets said.
A still of “Love & Gold,” a BYU animation film by students Jaysen Duckworth and Connor Van Dyke. “Love & Gold” is nominated for best animated series in the student Emmys. (Photo: BYU)
Adding to a long list of award-winning animation students are Jaysen Duckworth and Connor Van Dyke. The two were nominated for their film “Love & Gold,” a short film about two thieves who enter the same dungeon searching for a precious gem.
Students Ryan Jones, Austin Lawrence and Abigail Tolley received a nomination for their comedic piece about a guy who just wants Thanksgiving dinner to be over. Aptly named “Thanksgiving,” the main character gets trapped in a time loop on the dreaded holiday.
“Thanksgiving” has a chance to receive an inaugural “Chance Perdomo Legacy Scholarship,” a $10,000 award, if it wins the comedy series category. The scholarship was created by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios as a tribute to the late actor Chance Perdomo who died in a motorcycle accident in 2024.
Prior to an awards show where the winners will be announced in North Hollywood in March, the nominees will participate in two days of professional development events with media and industry leaders.
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