A Southeastern Channel student television production has won a coveted Emmy Award.

“Glazed: The University Donuts Story”, produced by Southeastern Louisiana University students Stephen Pfeil of Hammond and Calvin Nix of Baton Rouge, won a Suncoast Region Emmy Award recently at the Emmy gala in Miami.

“Glazed”, a documentary about the origin and operation of Hammond’s University Donuts shop and the donut industry in general, was awarded by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in the “Student Productions: Non-News” category.

The Southeastern Channel program was the only university production to win an Emmy out of 12 college nominees, including seven from the Southeastern Channel.  Competition included all university television stations and production entities in the Suncoast Region-- Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Puerto Rico.  Other 2011 student nominees included the University of Florida and the University of Miami.

Despite having universities nominated for Emmys each year, “Glazed” was the first college production to actually win a student Emmy since the Southeastern Channel last won in 2005 for the documentary short, “For the Love of the Game” about former Southeastern baseball coach John Stephenson.  The two Southeastern Channel Emmys are the only two ever won by a Louisiana university.

NATAS awards Emmys to those productions achieving excellence in television at the highest level. Winners are selected after rounds of judging against the Emmy standard of excellence, not against other productions.  Categories with nominees often have no winner.

It marks the seventh Emmy overall won by the Southeastern Channel in the past seven years.  The channel has received 29 Emmy nominations during that time.

“It’s a tremendous honor for our students to win an Emmy as it’s the highest honor given in television,” said Southeastern Channel general manager Rick Settoon.  “Stephen and Calvin are most deserving of this Emmy recognition.  They’re both talented, and they worked hard to produce a very creative, informative and entertaining documentary.”

“Glazed” was produced as a class assignment for “Communication 260: Field Video Production”, an Electronic Media Concentration course in Southeastern’s Department of Languages and Communication.

“This Emmy is also a credit to Southeastern Channel staff members and television instructors in the Department of Languages and Communication who’ve trained these students,” Settoon said.

The winning production includes interviews with the University Donuts owner, staff members, and happy customers who crowd the restaurant each morning.  Local business developers add comments on the nature and beginnings of the small business.

“Glazed” features original footage of the shop’s operation- such as its donut-making process beginning at 2 am. each morning.  The program also includes humorous archival clips about donuts from old commercials and “The Simpsons” along with statistics about the world popularity of donuts.

Pfeil, a former University Donuts employee, not only wrote, directed and videotaped the project, he also edited the production and created screen graphics.

“It is a great honor to have been awarded a student Emmy,” Pfeil said. “It’s a form of professional vindication for my work, showing me that I could make a living in the industry.”

Nix co-produced the documentary, both scheduling and conducting the on-camera interviews.  He also scheduled the shooting of location footage and assisted in the editing process.

“The moment they called “Glazed” all I could do is jump up with excitement and a heart of gratefulness,” Nix said.  “Winning a student Emmy displays how hard work and sacrifice can result in high recognition.  This Emmy gives me hope and lets me know that I can achieve whatever I desire.”

Pfeil said he believes more than technical expertise resulted in winning the Emmy.  

“The documentary has a human-interest side, and the appeal is not just about donuts,” he said.  “But who doesn’t like donuts, right?

The Southeastern Channel has won over 150 national, international and regional awards in its nine years of existence.  The Channel can be seen on Charter Cable Channel 18 in Tangipahoa, St. Tammany and Livingston parishes and on Channel 17 in Washington Parish. A live 24/7 webcast and Video on Demand programs are viewed in 46 states and 47 countries at www.selu.edu/tv.