In late August, Colorado Mesa University (CMU) welcomed Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to campus to discuss economic growth and his plans for the rest of his term in a formal interview with Mass Communication students.
Seniors Branson Kaiser and Jordan Browning each got five minutes to interview Polis and ask questions they came up with through their own research. This opportunity allowed many students from CMU’s Mass Communication program to get hands-on experience by interviewing, spectating and working in the studio on visuals and audio.
Kaiser conducted the first interview, where he discussed economic growth in the state and Polis' time on the Western Slope.
“It means a lot because just getting out and doing interviews can be rather difficult at times when you don’t really know who you’re dealing with,” said Kaiser. “So, it was cool to see the bigger perspective and a bigger persona walk through these doors and get to interview him with a live audience there.”
The CMU Mass Communication program provides many opportunities to students who are aspiring to work in the media or communications field one day. The program is housed in Escalante Hall, where there are multiple TV studios, audio production labs and broadcasting rooms. In these spaces, students are able to get hands-on experience and lean into what a real-world communications environment would look like.
When Polis announced he would be on CMU’s campus, MavMedia, formerly known as CMU-TV, jumped at the chance to interview a well-known political figure.
“He’s a politician, but as you start to interview, you realize they’re people just like you and I. He gets up every morning, he ties his shoes,” said Kaiser.
Once the daunting thoughts of interviewing such a high profile person dwindled away, Kaiser was able to settle in and ask the questions he had prepared. Browning experienced similar nerves during her interview about Polis’ plans for the remainder of his term, wildfire relief and Colorado’s relationship with the White House.
“I had a lot of nerves, but more so, I just had a lot of encouragement from the people around me,” said Browning. “They knew that I could do it and that I’m a good student and a good interviewer.”
Browning discussed more personal questions with Polis, including his personal plans for the remainder of his term. The bulk of her interview was about wildfire aid and what his office has done to help with recent wildfire issues in the state, specifically on the Western Slope. Browning found the experience to be a valuable opportunity for her studies at CMU.
“Being on the Western Slope, we don’t have access to the big officials that are in Denver most of the time,” said Browning. “So being that Jared Polis was coming over here and taking a stop at CMU and being one out of two people on campus to sit down and interview him was very exciting and just a big opportunity.”
MavMedia is run entirely by students and regularly publishes their work on YouTube.
View Branson Kaiser and Jordan Browning's interviews with Gov. Polis, and visit the MavMedia YouTube channel to view more of the organization's student-produced work.