Lacy also earned the prestigious Rosebud Award, making Northridge the winner of the statewide festival's top multimedia honor for the second straight year.

His entry was an interactive CD-ROM that allows actors to better market their skills and backgrounds to directors or other industry insiders, who can scan the actors' portfolio material quickly and efficiently.

"I chose to make this CD-ROM because my roommate is an actor who is like my brother," said Lacy, a multimedia major in CSUN's Cinema and Television Arts Department (CTVA). "I wanted to do something that would help him get his name out there, so I came up with this idea."

Called a "Digital Profile," the CD-ROM displays an actor's biography, "head shots" (photo portraits), downloadable rŽsumŽ, and clips from commercials, television shows, movies or other productions in which the actor has appeared. The disk even features a section in which the actor responds to a director's questions, such as "Why did you become an actor?"

Lacy's "Digital Profile" is the size of a business card. "It's small enough to fit in your wallet, which makes it convenient for handing out," he said.

The tiny disk already has helped Lacy's roommate, Romeo Brown, obtain a modeling contract and a manager, Lacy said.

CTVA assistant professor Mary Schaffer and instructors Mary Ver Plank and Laurence Tietz had to convince Lacy to enter the competition.

More than 200 entries from CSU students at 18 campuses were screened by distinguished CSU professors and industry leaders at the three-day festival, held this year at Cal State Channel Islands.

Schaffer said students in CTVA's multimedia option focus on creating products for the entertainment industry, including the design and creation of Web sites, CD-ROMs and DVDs.