MIHS students, advisers win prestigious broadcasting awards in New York City

KMIH 88.9 The Bridge notches Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Golden Microphone honor.

By Andy Nystrom • March 12, 2025 11:30 am
First row: Joe Bryant, Micah Drummond, Maggie Gibson, Samantha back, Willa Shopay and Natalie Woods. Back row: Lauren Schechter, Sam Paddor, Nova Shiers, Joe Shleifer, Sophia Loiselle and Michael Ketchum. Photo courtesy of the Mercer Island School District
First row: Joe Bryant, Micah Drummond, Maggie Gibson, Samantha back, Willa Shopay and Natalie Woods. Back row: Lauren Schechter, Sam Paddor, Nova Shiers, Joe Shleifer, Sophia Loiselle and Michael Ketchum. Photo courtesy of the Mercer Island School District

It’s all about unleashing quality content and solid production so listeners can enjoy what’s being fed into their earbuds.

That’s what Mercer Island High School (MIHS) senior Joe Shleifer feels is paramount to the immense success of the school’s student-run KMIH 88.9 The Bridge radio program.

The Bridge and its counterpart MIHS.TV earned 11 awards at the 2025 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) Awards, which was held on March 7-8 at the Times Square Sheraton Hotel in New York City. NBC’s Al Roker was the conference keynote speaker on March 8.

“The honors highlight the exceptional talent and dedication of MIHS students and faculty advisers in both radio and video broadcasting,” reads a press release.

For the second time in two years, The Bridge catapulted to the top of the national high school radio mountain by notching the coveted 2025 Golden Microphone at the IBS event to accompany its 2024 Best Radio station award at the John Drury Awards in Chicago. Further showing its strength, KMIH is the first-ever high school radio station to consecutively win these top accolades.

“I was super excited. I didn’t really know what to expect because there’s a lot of good competition going in, but I knew that this year we really had rallied to get a lot of submissions in,” said Shleifer, adding that he’s also thrilled for the people who are going to continue producing radio content next year.

Shleifer is a dual IBS award-winner for Best Public Affairs Program along with fellow Jewish students Sam Paddor and Chase Koehler for their insightful coverage on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel; and for Best Sports Play-by-Play (volleyball) with Maggie Gibson, Samantha Back and Willa Shopay.

Other dual winners are: Chloe Yang in the Best Campus/Community News category for her compelling interview with Mercer Island School District Superintendent Fred Rundle about the district’s new phone free policy; and in the Best Celebrity Interview realm for her conversation with garden guru Ciscoe Morris. Paddor snagged a second award for his in-depth coverage of the history of protest music in “Singing Songs and Carrying Signs.”

Senior Yang said that the entertainment factor is crucial when people tune into radio programs. Connecting with Islanders by offering community stories is impactful as well.

“In my interview with Fred, and also my interview with Ciscoe, they’re two very important and big figures in our community,” she said. “I think that radio, hearing someone’s voice, adds so much personality, and it feels like you’re a part of that conversation. So I think that just hearing from other people and hearing their opinions, their stories, I think that is the best part of radio.”

Rounding out the student winners’ list are: Maggie Blohm and Max Pelter for delivering Best Sports Play-by-Play (football); Hadley Holtzclaw for Best Sports Interview about volleyball senior night; Sophia Loiselle for Best Website (KMIH); and Micah Drummond for Best Comedy Program for his “Micah’s Minute” segment on MIHS.TV’s weekly program, The Current.

And the cavalcade of victories kept rolling in as Joe Bryant and Natalie Woods were awarded best radio faculty advisers for their guidance and commitment to fostering student excellence in broadcasting, and MIHS.TV’s Michael Ketchum was honored as best video faculty adviser for his leadership in the school’s media technology and filmmaking program.

Shleifer delved into the process of sending in-depth pieces onto the airwaves, from educating oneself on the topic to reporting with confidence.

“Our goal is to make sure that the content we’re putting out, whether it’s informational or entertaining, is to the utmost quality that we can provide. So at least for the content I put out, I’m always fact-checking, always making sure it’s accurate. For the October 7th (story), the people who are part of that, we were all super lucky we’ve been to Israel,” he said. “We have contacts there, and we have kind of gone through the process, talking to different education groups, different educators, different associations, both before and during.”

Yang praised her advisers Bryant, Woods and Lauren Schechter for being a massive part of KMIH’s expansion over the years by giving students opportunities to become engaged in radio broadcasting.

“I think it’s great that we were named the (top) high school radio station in the country by two national competitions. It’s a big win for KMIH, and I think that it just goes to show how much effort the students put in every day, and the work that we continue to do,” she said.

Added Woods: “These highly competitive awards represent the hard work, creativity and excellence of our KMIH 88.9 The Bridge and MIHS.TV students. We are incredibly proud of their achievements and the national recognition they’ve received. I encourage everyone in our community to tune-in to our radio station and TV program to hear and see the outstanding content.”

Both platforms can be found online at KMIH.org and MIHS.TV. KMIH can also be heard by streaming live at KMIH.org or downloading the station’s KMIH 88.9 FM app.