CMU's annual Media Innovation Day brought nearly 200 high school and college students together to explore multimedia storytelling through hands-on workshops and professional insights
September 25, 2025, was a day to remember as seven high schools, totaling nearly 200 students, walked onto Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) campus for Media Innovation Day. The event is an annual gathering that discusses multimedia storytelling and journalism career pipelines for upcoming college students, organized through the Languages, Literature, and Mass Communication (LLMC) program. This year’s event provided an opportunity for high school students and CMU students alike to learn from locally awarded professional speakers at various workshops.
To kick off the day, students were greeted by Sylvia Johnson, an award-winning filmmaker and National Geographic explorer based in the New Mexico area. After Johnson’s keynote and conversation with the students, they were released into groups to learn more about various multimedia from experts in the field.
The morning session consisted of four different workshops. The first was Photojournalism: How to Tell Stories in Photos. This session was taught by Instructor of Mass Communication Mickey Stellavato, who specializes in photography. Larry Robinson was also invited to the session to offer field-tested advice, drawing on his experience as a staff photojournalist for The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. The second available workshop was Yearbook Design Innovation: Creating a Vibe. Since many high school students design their yearbooks, Instructor of Mass Communication Jesse Benn organized a workshop on yearbook design alongside Janey Wilding, a representative for Jostens. Covering All the Bases in Sports was a workshop that covered working experience in sports media relations, social media, NIL (Name, Image, Likeness), and more. This was taught by CMU’s Assistant Athletic Director of Communications, Dave Jahnke and Instructor of Mass Communication Danielle Martin. The final session, Christmas in September: All the Fun Toys of Video Production, was presented by Instructor of Mass Communication Greg Mikolai and his film students.
These are only four of the many events that were made available to students across western Colorado. For nearly 30 years, the Mass Communication program has encouraged all high schools in the area to send students not only to learn, but to make connections on campus during this interactive day.
Media Innovation Day is a group effort for everyone in the Mass Communication program. Assistant Professor of Mass Communication Laurena Davis, PhD, discussed her experience over the years with the LLMC's special day.
“I did my undergraduate work here at CMU, which was Mesa State College, where I was a Humanities major,” Davis continued, “And so, I both attended and have also been there on the faculty side for many years. And it has grown and changed a lot.”
Students who attended Media Innovation Day are all currently working for their high school’s student media in some way. These workshops helped spark new interest, ideas and techniques that they bring back to their high schools. From creating podcasts to writing and filming, CMU covered multimedia storytelling and provided real-life professionals to present, speak, and inform students from around the area, kindling a new love for Mass Communication.