Volleyball players use BCA experience to co-host video segment
Sophomore setter Marissa Grant and junior defensive specialist Courtney Hiltibran pose for a portrait on Oct. 4 at McGuirk Arena.
Between balancing classes, homework and Division I volleyball, broadcasting majors Courtney Hiltibran and Marissa Grant don’t have much free time to get involved in student media outlets on campus.
During the season, Hiltibran said it’s especially difficult for athletes to participate in clubs or other extra curricular activities relating to their areas of study.
“It’s super hard for us to get involved in things like News Central 34 and CM Life,” Hiltibran said. “We want to so badly, but it’s just not possible with our schedule during the season.”
As a solution, first-year head coach Mike Gawlik asked Hiltibran and Grant to co-host a show featured on Central Michigan volleyball’s Twitter and Instagram pages.
"The Chippewa Show," developed by Gawlik and his staff, is intended not only to give fans a look into the CMU volleyball program, but also to give broadcasting majors Hiltibran and Grant experience in front of the camera.
“It’s an opportunity for Courtney and Marissa to get some experience from a career standpoint,” Gawlik said. “As co-hosts, they have to come up with ideas for the show and interview their teammates. It gives them experience in front of a camera while showing people what (CMU volleyball) is all about.”
Hiltibran and Grant have a BCA class together and are planning to incorporate the show into the classroom. While building their broadcasting experience they hope to also build their fan base by including other CMU students and staff.
“I think it’ll be a good experience for us not only to talk to our team, but to students and professors and get other people involved,” Grant said. “It’s about us reaching out to everybody and getting people involved in everything that’s here at CMU.”
Three episodes have been posted so far. They can be found on CMU volleyball’s Instagram page.
Though there isn’t a regular time for the show to be aired, Hiltibran and Grant plan to feature their teammates on the show throughout the season.
“We’re taking ideas from our teammates and making sure we incorporate them into it,” Hiltibran said. “It is really special that we got chosen to do something like that, so we want to make sure we introduce our team throughout the entire season.”
Hiltibran, Grant and CMU volleyball hosts Miami (OH) Friday at 7 p.m. at McGurik Arena.
