In this episode of Lights, Camera, Learn!, guest Elyjah Wilbur, Communications Specialist for the San Juan Unified School District, shares his journey from working with digital media giants like Smosh and BuzzFeed to producing impactful storytelling in public education. He discusses how his early experiences taught him the importance of relatability and building connections with storytelling and how those principles now guide his work creating accessible, inclusive content for diverse school communities. Elyjah also reflects on finding fulfillment through collaboration, mentorship, and storytelling that highlights the real people and programs shaping education in Sacramento.

Reporter Denzen Cortez joins host Aaron Heinrich to share how a third-grade newscast, a love of storytelling, and lessons from sports led him to the KCRA newsroom in Sacramento, CA. From interning with David Muir to reporting in his hometown of Sacramento, Denzen talks about curiosity, discipline, and what it really takes to make it in journalism today.

Ever wonder what a communication professional does in a large, metropolitan school district? In episode 5 of Lights, Camera, Learn! we’re talking with Xanthi Soriano, the Executive Director of Communication for the Sacramento County Office of Education, to answer that question. We’ll learn what she does, why this position is necessary, and how an initial career in Corporate America prepared her for working with school administrators, teachers, parents and students.

Dawn Williams is an experienced media educator with over ten years teaching high school media production skills, while also steadily building up a school newscast that now airs daily. Some of her students have gone on to work as reporters, post-production editors on movies and series, and creatives at professional sports teams. Hear how Dawn made the move from working behind the scenes in local TV to building a successful high school program that continues to make a positive impact on campus and with her students.

Melissa May went from media talent to media teacher. Hear how her background as a reporter and on-air talent has helped her students gain a real world look at the way news is produced, the need for collaboration and clear communication, and the many different roles involved in producing a newscast and news story.

This is a rare opportunity to hear from someone who brings real world experience to the classroom and a passion for teaching to her students.

Dr. Carmen Stitt is a media professor at Sacramento State University. She also manages the internship program for communication and media majors. She shares her experience working outside media before becoming a professor, the media courses she teaches today, and the importance of media literacy. We also talk about what students need to be thinking about when they pursue an internship and what employers need to consider when hiring an intern.

If you're in higher ed and want some insight into how to approach teaching media, or if you've ever considered taking your media education experience to the next level, this is the episode for you!

In this episode, we're talking with Charles King, middle school teacher at Heron School in the Natomas School District in Sacramento, California. Charles shares his journey as a media educator who's been teach media production to elementary and middle school students for over 20 years. Hear how he's turned his classes into mini-film schools and what his students and he have learned along the way. Charles is also the Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium's 2025 Alan Hinderstein Teacher of the Year.