EVIT 88.7 The Pulse Radio Students Earn 17 Nominations at John Drury National High School Radio Awards
Students from the Radio/Audio Production program at the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) are celebrating major national recognition. 88.7 The Pulse (KVIT-FM) scored 17 finalist nominations across 13 categories at the 2025–2026 John Drury National High School Radio Awards.
The finalists were announced on Monday, August 11, with overall winners set to be unveiled during the official awards ceremony on October 24, 2026.
Top Student Performers
Several EVIT students and recent graduates earned multiple individual nominations for their work behind the mic and behind the scenes:
- Kairis Boyles (Recent Graduate) – 5 Nominations
- Broadcaster of the Year
- Best Public Affairs Program
- Best Talk Show (Non-Sports)
- Best Underwriting/Commercial
- Best Use of Social Media
- Kassy Hakes (2nd-Year Student) – 4 Nominations
- Broadcaster of the Year
- Best Newscast
- Best Sportscast
- Outstanding Student Leader
- Henry Bridwell (Recent Graduate) – 2 Nominations
- Broadcaster of the Year
- Outstanding Student Leader
Note: To qualify for the prestigious Broadcaster of the Year award, students must submit entries across news, sports, and DJ/specialty music categories.
Category Finalists
- Outstanding Student Leader: Spike Miller-Dargan
- Best Use of Social Media: Kingston Hubbard, Kiera Fant, and Kairis Boyles
- Best Use of Video: Kingston Hubbard
- Best Podcast: Kiera Fant and Ella Cross
- Best Promo: Spike Miller-Dargan
- Best Underwriting/Commercial: Spike Miller-Dargan and Kairis Boyles
- Best Website: Brandon Neyenhuis, Miraculous Brown, and Seth Sherwood
88.7 The Pulse Up for Best High School Radio Station
In addition to individual student honors, 88.7 The Pulse (KVIT-FM) is a finalist for Best High School Radio Station.
Presented annually by North Central College and WONC-FM in Naperville, Illinois, the John Drury Awards showcase top high school broadcast talent nationwide. This marks EVIT’s eighth year competing in the event. To date, the program has earned 20 national awards, including top honors for Best High School Radio Station in 2020–2021 and 2022–2023.
