A Nashville graduate is among the Hillsdale College students recognized nationally for their work at the Michigan college’s student-run radio station.
Lilly Faye Kraemer, a member of Hillsdale’s Class of 2028 and a St. Cecilia Academy graduate from Nashville, earned third place in the Best Regularly Scheduled Entertainment Program category of the 2026 College Broadcasters, Inc. (CBI) National Student Production Awards.
CBI’s 2026 awards recognized student productions from colleges and universities nationwide.
Kraemer was recognized for “Story Behind the Song: Stephanie Childress,” a program featuring an interview with conductor Stephanie Childress about her work.
Hillsdale College students and a recent graduate earned three national awards in the competition, which recognizes outstanding work in student broadcasting. The college’s WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM received honors in podcasting, documentary production, and entertainment programming.
Erika Kyba, a 2026 Hillsdale graduate, earned second place in Best Podcast for “The Poetry Fix: Old Ironsides.” The episode examines Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.’s poem about the USS Constitution and explores themes of national identity and respect for what is noble.
Luke Miller, a member of the Class of 2027, earned second place in Best Documentary for “Commander In Chief: Lyndon B. Johnson,” an audio documentary examining the life of the nation’s 36th president.
Scot Bertram, WRFH’s general manager, said the awards reflect a combination of a liberal arts education and practical experience in journalism and radio.
“A liberal arts education gives our students something worth saying, and our journalism and radio programs give them the experience to say it well,” Bertram said. “These students have put in the hard work to make the most of both. It is a pleasure to see their pursuit of excellence recognized at the national level.”
Founded in 2016, Radio Free Hillsdale is the college’s student-run radio station. Students have produced thousands of hours of content and hundreds of episodes covering subjects ranging from sports and politics to poetry and astronomy.
The station, according to the college, has accumulated numerous broadcasting honors, including 10 first-place awards from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, 42 from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, and seven from CBI.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
