MDC-TV Wins Four Communicator Awards

Miami Dade College’s TV station based at North Campus—MDC-TV—was honored four times at the 27th Annual Communicator Awards on May 4. 

They received the following awards: 

• Gold Award of Excellence in the online video category for Musically United.
• Silver Award of Distinction in the history television category for Black History Month Promo.
• Silver Award of Distinction in the online video category for 5000 Role Models at Miami Dade College.
• Silver Award of Distinction in the social category for Fashion Forward Ep. 2: “Sustainable Fashion.”

“We are a community college and not a TV network with millions of dollars at their disposal,” said MDC-TV Executive Director Ariel Rubalcava. “A lot of the work is created by students and professors at Miami Dade College.”

Musically United

Musically United is a 17-minute video about how the COVID-19 pandemic took the music community by surprise and forced them to cancel all live events.

Alberto Bade, the orchestral director at North Campus, came up with the idea for the video after the MDC Orchestra canceled their travel with the South Florida Youth Symphony to Uruguay and Argentina for a set of concerts. 

Bade got all the musicians who were scheduled to perform to form a virtual international orchestra. It included members of the MDC Orchestra, members of South Florida Youth Symphony, the Madrid Metropolitan Orchestra, the Bucharest Symphony and the Panamanian Youth Philharmonic. The performances were recorded from home using cell phones. 

“When you see resilient musicians from around the world united to share the music they love, even in the midst of unprecedented circumstances, it brings a sense of optimism for the future,” Bade said. “This was a perfect opportunity to use our common language of music to express what we felt during this time.”

Black History Month Promo

The Black History Month Promo was written and produced by MDC-TV television producer Tony Leal to celebrate the accomplishments of six of the most influential African Americans in the Miami-Dade County community.

The one-minute video highlights people like Dana Dorsey, the first African American millionaire in the South; Sidney Poitier, the first African American man to win an Oscar; and Carrie Meek, the first African American lawmaker to represent Florida in Congress since the Reconstruction era.

“I always try to recognize every community in Miami and share their stories,” Leal said. “We always have to remind people of the [struggles] some communities had to endure throughout history. The award pays tribute to all their sacrifices.” 

5000 Role Models 

5000 Role Models is a 30-minute-long video that recognizes the efforts made by the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, a dropout prevention program for boys in Miami-Dade County public schools. It was founded by congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson, operates in Florida schools and has 5,000 adult male mentors.

The video was produced by MDC-TV television producer James Pierre and hosted by Marcus Bright, who is a district administrator for the 5000 Role Models. Its purpose is to inform others about the project, important social issues and how they can get involved with their community.

“We both want to spread the message about the importance of education, service, mentorship and creating opportunities for our community,” Bright said.

Fashion Forward Ep. 2: “Sustainable Fashion.”

Fashion Forward Ep. 2 brings awareness to the problems happening in the fashion industry, such as how much waste it produces, the exploitation of factory workers in fast fashion companies and more.

In the 30-minute episode—hosted by renowned fashion designer Rene Ruiz—members of the MDC’s Miami Fashion Institute discuss the importance of fomenting sustainability in the fashion industry by teaching students how to produce eco-friendly garments. 

The project was put together by Rubalcava as executive director, Nastassia Alayeto Alvarez as producer, Amed Torrecilla as sound engineer, Richard De La Vega as video engineer, Josephine Aiello as production assistant, and Daniel Rodriguez and Maikel Garcia as videographers.

“I am very concerned about sustainability. We need to change the perception that pure capitalism is the solution,” Rubalcava said. “The real solution is capitalism with a social purpose. We are supposed to make our planet better and not worse. This is home.” 

MDC-TV broadcasts seven days a week in English, Spanish, Creole and French. The station can be viewed on Comcast (Channel 78), Atlantic Broadband (Channel 78), AT&T U-Verse (Channel 99) or on-demand on Youtube.