LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ (01/25/2010)(readMedia)-- One Rider University student from Sussex County could have the opportunity to grace the red carpet for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards this March. Gina Grosso of Newton, N.J., a junior Communication major, and her teammate Kelly Dixon of Garnet Valley, Pa., a December 2009 graduate, have been selected as one of the top 10 pairs of finalists in the MTV U Oscar® Red Carpet Correspondent Contest.
Dixon and Grosso, who both worked at the Rider University Network studio together, teamed up to create a short video about why they should be chosen to cover the Oscars on March 7. The other finalists represent Chapman University, Emerson College, Florida A&M University, Middle Tennessee State University, Syracuse University, Texas State University-San Marcos, University of South Dakota and University of Texas at Austin.
In order to advance to the next round of the competition, finalists will be selected by the number of online votes cast by the public. The top three finalists will fly to Los Angeles to take part in the events of the weekend, and one winning team will be chosen to cover the Academy Awards from the famed red carpet.
To view Dixon and Grosso's video and to vote for the Rider team, please visit Oscars.mtvU.com. Individuals can cast one vote per day until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10. The top three finalists will be announced on Tuesday, February 16.
Since her freshman year, Grosso has been a visible presence at the Rider University Network studio as both a reporter and producer.
In addition to her work at the radio station, Grosso is also working with Kildea and some students on Children of Terror, a documentary about a two Holocaust survivors – a German Jewish woman and a Polish Catholic woman. The project has involved many trips to New York, where the women live, and to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The documentary plans to focus on anti-Semitism and interfaith.
Grosso has also filmed a number of interviews and live performances for Z100, the New York Top-40 radio, where she has worked closely with producer Garrett Vogel '06.
This semester, Grosso is interning at A&E and Outpost Digital, a production company, in New York City.
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