Two Washtenaw Community College students earned first-place honors from the Michigan chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, as the college continued its standout run in the annual Student Production Awards.
Digital Video Production student Jake Wilkins became a back-to-back winner, taking top honors in the Non-Fiction Long-Form category for his 22-minute documentary, "Sincerely, Sage Jo."
Faith Pearson also captured a first-place award in the Animation/Graphics/Special Effects category for her mixed media project, "Mixed Emotions."
The 2026 awards were announced April 26 during a ceremony at Michigan State University. WCC students have now won 55 first-place awards since first entering the competition in 2012.
JAKE WILKINS
Sincerely, Sage Jo
After winning first-place honors in the Non-Fiction Short-Form category a year ago, Jake Wilkins was back among the 2026 nominees.
His winning documentary tells the story of a couple from Flushing, who turned personal tragedy into a meaningful business. After losing their son, Sage, at birth, the couple began preserving flowers given to them during their grieving process — eventually creating keepsake arrangements for others. What began as a personal act of healing has grown into a business that has fulfilled thousands of orders.
“I was deep diving for topics and came across a news story someone had done about them," Wilkins said. "When I looked into it, I realized they lived in Flushing, which is where I grew up and lived until I was 20.”
Wilkins, 35, now lives in Chelsea. He interviewed the couple and their first customer as part of the documentary, which he produced between August and December 2025 for a VID 275: Documentary Video Production II class.
The project reflects his passion for nonfiction storytelling and his desire to pursue it professionally.
“I'm not super interested in narrative or fiction," Wilkins said. "I love finding topics, learning more about them and telling the story in my own way.”
Wilkins also credits fellow WCC student Samira Sharifi, who served as associate producer on the project and was nominated for her own work in the Non-Fiction Short-Form category.
Wilkins hopes to transfer to Michigan State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Digital Storytelling with a minor in Documentary Production.
FAITH PEARSON
Mixed Emotions
Faith Pearson’s award-winning project, “Mixed Emotions,” showcases a unique blend
of filmmaking and hands-on artistry.
The 19-year-old Saline High School graduate created a mixed-media animation by recording friends playing billiards, printing each frame and hand-drawing graphics onto the images. Those images were then scanned to become digital files that were reassembled into a video.
The project pushed beyond typical class assignments — something Pearson said was made possible by the support of her instructor, Ben Baker. He gave Pearson the flexibility to pursue the technique, even though it did not fit squarely within a standard class project for VID 277: Video Graphics II.
“What makes WCC’s video program so great is having teachers like Ben who give students an opportunity to take their idea and make something cool with it,” Pearson said.
Her work also explored deeper emotional themes.
“I can’t really explain the feelings I had while making it, but I was noticing something about relationships and life in general. I think it makes people feel a certain way,” she said.
Since she has been focused more on narrative storytelling since age 8, Pearson said winning an award in a special effects category was unexpected.
She is currently producing, directing and starring in a horror film, “A Truth Cuts Deep,” which she is filming at the hair salon where she works as a receptionist.
MORE NOMINEES
In total, nine WCC students combined for 10 Student Production Awards nominations this year — more than any college in the state except Michigan State University and Ferris State University.
In addition to the two winners, the following students received nominations:
- Eliot Dimcheff (Director and Fiction Short-Form – “Double Play”)
- Justice Herrera-Whitney (Editor – “Broken Furnace”)
- Samira Sharifi (Non-Fiction Short-Form – “A Legacy Built in Stone”)
- Skiii (Herbert Ceasar III) (Music Video – “IMTHEMAN2K25”)
- Cody Stedman (Animation/Graphics/Special Effects – “Pixelated Kisses”)
- Ethan Williams (Fiction Long-Form – “A Boy Named Choo Choo”)
- Lena Zielkowski (Non-Fiction Long-Form – “Grief and Love Are Sisters”)
All nominated works were created as part of WCC’s Digital Video program, where students produce professional-level content through hands-on coursework.
Tags: Awards, Digital Video Production, Student Production Awards, Student Success