Change people's lives at home and around the world

Make a Gift

Philanthropies
1450 N. University Ave
Provo, UT 84604
801-356-5300
Email Us

Reporting from Peru’s Reed Islands

October 2016

Donovan Baltich & Dr. Randle

Weaving a rich narrative of an ancient Peruvian culture surviving atop man-made reed islands, BYU communications student Donovan Baltich was named a top finalist in a national journalism competition.

Baltich reported the story thanks to a grant from BYU’s Office of Research and Creative Activities, which funded his travel to the Uros Islands on Lake Titicaca. There he covered the humanitarian efforts of visiting BYU engineering students, who built water-filtration systems to improve the islanders’ health.

His story, published on the BYU campus newspaper’s website, incorporated text, video, and images. The combined presentation took second in the Multimedia Enterprise Reporting Competition of the Hearst Journalism Awards. “The Hearst competition is what we originally had intended our presentation for,” Baltich says. “We formed it around their requirements.”

Communications professor and mentor Quint Randle accompanied Baltich to Peru. “To have him there with me was very helpful,” Baltich says. “He saw what I saw but from another perspective. If I’d gone by myself, I wouldn’t have known where to begin.”

Funded in part by donations, ORCA grants facilitate undergraduate work with faculty on research, field studies, or creative projects.

Related story: /byu/news-features/read-and-watch-all-about-it.html

Philanthropies
1450 N. University Ave
Provo, UT 84604
801-356-5300
Email Us

Related Articles

BYU

A Simple Way to Make a Difference

Don and Ann discovered the Signature Scholarship, which gave them a chance to help a student (or sometimes multiple students) in need and meet that student in person at a once-a-year luncheon. “Not all young people come with equal family resources—some come from broken homes, some from homes where neither parent has been to college, some from homes where a father or mother has lost employment or has medical issues, and even a few where one or both parents have passed away,” Don says.

BYU

Coming Home

Richard Palmer had no intention of attending BYU until he traveled from his home state of Washington to visit campus one day during his high school years. In Provo, he got the distinct impression that he would attend the university and even live in a particular on-campus apartment complex that was then still under construction.

BYU

Discovering the Culture of Christ

Culture is like a forest, where individuals are likened to the uniqueness of an individual tree,” says business professor Simon Greathead, who has invited his students to discover “culture of Christ” characteristics in general conference addresses.