Flintridge Preparatory School alum MC Plaschke has been nominated for the prestigious Television Academy Foundation’s 43^rd College Television Awards, which recognize and reward excellence in student-produced programs from colleges nationwide. Winners of the competition will be announced by celebrity presenters at the red carpet awards ceremony on April 13 in Los Angeles.

Plaschke, along with college classmate Alexander Heller, has been nominated in the comedy series category for “We Met at Camp.” Plaschke served as director and writer on the project while attending the American Film Institute’s MFA directing program.

“We Met at Camp” is a comedy that centers around a young woman confused about her sexuality. While attending summer camp, the preteen feels pressure from her female bunkmates to have a male crush. Things go awry, though, when she tries to convince them that her fake crush on a male counselor isn’t fake at all.

“‘We Met at Camp’ is a series I would have loved to see as a teen and that is why I made it,” said Plaschke. “I am obsessed with romantic comedies but have rarely seen people like me (a queer person) in them. There’s this narrative that a queer person’s life begins the day they come out, but that is just not true.

“Self-discovery isn’t always linear, yet often it is shown that way, especially on TV. I wanted to honor the gray area [and] celebrate the time when a queer person is finding themselves and trying to figure out where they fit into the world.”

Added Plaschke, “Being nominated for a College Television Award is unreal. When I wrote this project, I was so worried no one would ‘get it’ or like it. The fact that it’s now nominated for a college Emmy is incredible!”

Currently, Plaschke is a staff writer at Phony Content, a digital content company that produces scripted storytelling via text messages. Prior to attending AFI, they worked at “Saturday Night Live” directing videos for the show’s “Please Don’t Destroy” sketches.

Designed to emulate the Emmy^® Awards, student entries are judged by Television Academy members. Criteria for the College Television Awards reflect industry standards of excellence, imagination and innovation. To purchase tickets to the awards ceremony, visit TelevisionAcademy.com/cta/tickets.