Cal State Fullerton won a 2019 Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s Circle of Excellence silver award in the general short video category for the “Cal State Fullerton Presidential Rap – Titans Reach Higher.”
More than 2,800 entries were submitted from throughout the world for this year’s Circle of Excellence Awards. In January, the video won a gold award in the CASE District VII Conference contest. The district covers Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands and Utah.
“Quite an accomplishment to write, shoot and edit this piece all with in-house resources,” the CASE judges wrote. “The piece was fun and playful, and positioned the president as a relatable leader. Production value was incredibly high—great graphics and shooting.”
At the 2018 Convocation, President Fram Virjee and alumna Rachel Herzog shared many of CSUF’s points of pride in the form of a rap.
The duet was a hit on social media, garnering more than 100,000 views on Facebook, Instagram and Facebook. The Presidential Rap video was developed and written by Matt Olson, deputy chief of staff and director of executive communications in the president’s office. Eraj Shadaram, director of Titan Communications, the university’s digital media center and hands-on classroom for communications students, filmed and produced the video.
The Department of Strategic Communications and Brand Management promoted it through its various social media platforms and web portals.