{"id":211966,"date":"2026-02-20T11:53:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T16:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/?p=211966"},"modified":"2026-03-02T12:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T17:11:14","slug":"montclair-students-rally-around-red-hawk-olympian-olga-mikutina-at-watch-party-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/2026\/02\/20\/montclair-students-rally-around-red-hawk-olympian-olga-mikutina-at-watch-party-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Montclair Students Rally Around Red Hawk Olympian Olga Mikutina at Watch Party Events"},"content":{"rendered":"

Presentation Hall in the College of Communication and Media buzzed with excitement Tuesday afternoon as students cheered on Montclair student and five-time Austrian national champion (2020\u201321, 2024\u201326) <\/span>Olga Mikutina<\/b><\/a> as she competed in the women\u2019s short program on the Olympic stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hosted by the <\/span>Red Hawk Sports Network (RHSN)<\/b><\/a>, the watch party drew students from across campus who stopped in between classes, filled seats with friends and proudly waved customized signs and posters supporting the Ukrainian-Austrian figure skater. The room grew quiet as she took to the ice, then erupted in applause as soon as she struck her ending pose.<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Bryan DeNovellis<\/a>, lead organizer of the event, proposed the concept of transforming Presentation Hall into a live, studio-style experience for students.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot every college has a student competing in the Olympics,\u201d DeNovellis said. \u201cThis is what can happen when you have an idea and the right people around you to help make it a reality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Leading up to Olga\u2019s program, DeNovellis <\/span>arranged a special panel to give students deeper context around the Olympic experience. CCOM alum Alena Arzamastseva, a 2025 graduate who competed in swimming at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, reflected on the mindset and preparation required to compete on the world stage. She was joined by Alexey Beletsky, a former Olympic ice dancer and adult figure skating coach, who shared insight into the technical precision and resilience required at the highest level of competition. The panelists offered students a behind-the-scenes perspective on what Mikutina may have been experiencing in the moments leading up to her performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Bryan DeNovellis (left) joins Olympic panelists Alena Arzamastseva (center) and Alexey Beletsky (right) for a discussion on competing at the highest level.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The event also drew attention from regional media. <\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Stacy Gitlin<\/a><\/span>, who currently works as a producer for the overnight broadcast for <\/span>NBC<\/span>, arranged a live NBC look-in before Mikutina\u2019s performance, adding excitement to the afternoon and giving students a firsthand glimpse into an international broadcast production. WNBC reporter <\/span>Sarah Wallace<\/span> also joined the watch party, reporting from Presentation Hall to showcase the Montclair community\u2019s excitement and support for their fellow Red Hawk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Stacy Gitlin (left) and student Phil Elhers (right) prepare for the NBC live feed during the Olympic watch party.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For RHSN students, the experience extended beyond watching the competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a <\/span>Film and Television<\/b><\/a> major in RHSN, this was surreal,\u201d said Heidy Carranza Alvarado. \u201cWe weren\u2019t just supporting a fellow Red Hawk, we were seeing firsthand how an event like this is produced. From being interviewed by local news to watching someone I spoke to last week compete on the world stage, it gave me a real sense of what my future career could look like. It also reminded me how important community support is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The week concluded with a second watch party two days later in CCOM\u2019s Morehead Lounge as students gathered to watch Mikutina\u2019s women’s free skate. She finished the Games placing 18th overall in women’s singles.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Ready to Start Your Montclair Journey?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Prospective Students and Parents:<\/b>\u00a0Plan your visit<\/b><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0take your first step<\/b><\/a>\u00a0in applying to become a Red Hawk. Learn more about our\u00a0seven undergraduate programs<\/b><\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0College of Communication and Media.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

About the College of Communication and Media:<\/b>\u00a0The College of Communication and Media (CCOM) offers a range of dynamic programs to a talented and diverse student population of over 2,000. Offering degrees in advertising, animation and visual effects, communication and media studies, film and television, journalism and digital media, social media and public relations, sports communication and an online, asynchronous MA devoted to strategic communication and media, the College prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. Founded in 2012 and housed in world-class, state-of-the-art facilities just 12 miles from New York City, the College is the only program in the country that offers the following opportunities for students: a radio station (WMSC), newspaper (The Montclarion), strategic communications agency (Hawk Communications), sports network (Red Hawk Sports Network) streaming platform (Hawk+), digital newsroom (News Lab) and studio, and a social media listening center (Joetta DiBella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication). The College also has a Student Success team, including dedicated Career Services and Advising professionals who prepare students for the internship and job search process. Student projects and programs have recently received national recognition from PRSSA\u2019s Bateman Competition, an Edward R. Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and College Television Awards (\u201cStudent Emmy\u201d awards) from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The College is also home to the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism and media. Through $7.1M in grants awarded over the last five years, the Center focuses on collaboration in journalism, media equity, media coaching and training, civic science and research. The Center is also home to the NJ Civ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Presentation Hall in the College of Communication and Media buzzed with excitement Tuesday afternoon as students cheered on Montclair student and five-time Austrian national champion (2020\u201321, 2024\u201326) Olga Mikutina as she competed in the women\u2019s short program on the Olympic stage. Hosted by the Red Hawk Sports Network (RHSN), the watch party drew students from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":482,"featured_media":211970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-of-communication-and-media-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/482"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211966"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212024,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211966\/revisions\/212024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}