EVIT’s “88.7 The Pulse” Named Best High School Radio Station In The Nation
Current 88.7 The Pulse (KVIT-FM) students and May 2023 graduates of the Radio/Audio
Production program at the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT), won four national awards,
including Best High School Radio Station, at the 2022-2023 John Drury High School Radio
Awards. The winners were announced during a ceremony in Naperville, IL on Saturday,
November 4 th .
In addition to 88.7 The Pulse being named the Best High School Radio Station in the nation,
Aiden Mohr (EVIT ‘23) won two awards, for Best Newscast and Best Sportscast. Mohr was also a
finalist in the Broadcaster of the Year category, as were Alex Carlson (EVIT ‘23), Rebecca
Freeman (EVIT ‘23) and Bianca Grodecki (EVIT ‘23). To qualify for Broadcaster of the Year,
students had to submit an entry in three separate categories: news, sports & music/DJ. Grodecki
also won first place in the Best Featured News Story category for reporting last spring on a key
resignation at Google over Artificial Intelligence.
Freeman took 2 nd place in the Best Public Affairs Show category for her show last spring that
spotlighted the local non-profit group “Amplify Voices.” Current EVIT senior Nick Shultz (Desert
Mountain ’24) won 2 nd place for Best PSA production about veterans & PTSD. Jason Richey
(Perry ’24) & Adam Beadle (Hamilton ’24) took 2 nd place in the Best Sports Talk Show category
for their twice weekly show “The Pulse Sports Connection.” And Gus Martinez (EVIT ’23)
finished in 4 th place for Best Promo for his production highlighting EVIT Expo.
At the station level, 88.7 The Pulse won 3 rd place for Best Website (www.887thepulse.com) and
3 rd place for Best Use of Social Media (4 th Annual Senior Salute on Instagram). Also, Dave Juday,
Radio/Audio Production instructor at EVIT and one of the faculty advisors for The Pulse, was
named a finalist in the Best Station Advisor category. “Words can’t describe how proud I am of
our EVIT Radio students,” Juday said in a press release. “These awards are a testament to our
students’ hard work and the dedication they have to see our program & radio station succeed.”
88.7 The Pulse General Manager Michael Mallace added, “I could not be prouder of the team.
These recognitions affirm the impact of EVIT in shaping the broadcasters of the future.”
Overall, EVIT received 14 nominations in 11 different categories this year. This is the fifth year
that EVIT students have competed in the John Drury High School Radio Awards, a national
competition, presented by North Central College in Naperville, IL and WONC-FM. The awards
are named in honor of legendary ABC-Chicago news anchor John Drury. 88.7 The Pulse was also
named Best High School Radio Station at the 2020-2021 Drury Awards.
The Pulse is a centerpiece of EVIT’s Radio/Audio Production program, located at the Main
Campus of EVIT. It is a 15,000-watt public radio station that showcases the talents of the
students enrolled in the program.
