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Nathan Gagne ÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™20, a communication major and member of the University of New HavenÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™s Communication Club, and his classmates continually strive to use their creativity to make a difference.

To help raise awareness to the opioid epidemic in the United States, Gagne led a group that created two public service announcements that were recently recognized at the 42nd Boston/New England Emmy Awards Ceremony. Gagne, who won an Emmy for his work on which placed first in the College/University-Public Service (PSAs) category, also worked as an editor and writer on

"Winning a student Emmy for cinematography means a lot to me because it is my dream to be a great director of photography," said Gagne, who also represented the University at the Cannes Film Festival in France. "To be recognized right now, even at the collegiate level, is a big deal."

"Be the Change," which received honorable mention at the Emmys, also finished in second place out of more than 50 entries in the , a competition hosted by Fox61 and the GovernorÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™s Prevention Partnership. The competition challenged students to create PSAs to raise awareness to the stateÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™s opioid crisis. For their second place finish, the students received a $1,500 prize.

"To be recognized right now, even at the collegiate level, is a big deal."Nathan Gagne ÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™20

"We drew inspiration from the personal life of one of our teammates," said Gagne. "We hope this will impact anybody who is affected negatively by opioids. Hopefully, future generations can learn from it."

In addition, Nicholas Graham ÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™16, who recently worked as an assistant on the upcoming Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro, won an Emmy for his cinematography work in the student film "Paint."

The awards are given by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), a professional service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and related media, as well as the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational, and technical achievements within the television industry.

"I especially hope the PSAs will impact those struggling with addiction and will inspire them to seek help."Seth Harrington ÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™20

"Receiving an award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is a confirmation and a testament to the outstanding, high-quality work of our students," said Paul Falcone, director of studio operations and media production at the University and the studentsÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™ adviser. "We are enormously proud of our studentsÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™ achievements, and we look forward to their future accomplishments."

Seth Harrington ÐÓ°ÉÔ­°æ™20 worked with Gagne on "The First Step" and "Be the Change" as a writer and director. He says the opportunities that he and his classmates have had at the University have been invaluable.

"Winning this award is meaningful to me because it is proof that hard work pays off and that putting in extra effort definitely is worth it," said Harrington, a communication major. "I especially hope the PSAs will impact those struggling with addiction and will inspire them to seek help."