MEJO 121: Class Reflection and Growth of OPTOmist

By Ben Murphy

Published: May 2025

Chapel Hill, NC -- This spring has not only been my first semester as a student of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but also my first semester taking Hussman's official "MEJO" classes (as they're known around here at UNC-Chapel Hill).

One of these MEJO classes has been MEJO 121: Introduction to Digital Storytelling. The class, a core requirement of Hussman's curriculum, meets in Carroll Hall every Monday and Wednesday from 8:00am-9:15am, and is taught by professor Art Eddy (an accomplished former radio host turned podcaster).  

MEJO 121 is designed around helping students gain familiarity and foundational skills in the media spaces of filming, editing, production, and, most importantly - storytelling. For example, as MEJO 121 students, we have all worked extensivley with editing softwares like Adobe Premiere Pro and iMovie for both group and indivudual projects, as well as participated in interactive guest lectures from numerous well-respected professionals (e.g., journalist Keely Arthur, writer/entrepreneuar Darren Carter, etc.) addressing key aspects of modern media, individual branding, and compelling storytelling. 

The class culminates in a final project with students conducting independently filmed, edited, and produced interviews for a topic important to them, as well as creating personal websites showcasing their interviews and other related individual work. Personally, having already created OPTOmist, this assignment provided an excuse to further explore the world of optometry by interviewing Dr. Elizabeth Gunst, OD, alongside offering a tangible springboard for expanding OPTOmist as both a pre-optometry and vision care website.

Overall, the learned skills I have applied most from MEJO 121 to my final project interviewing Dr. Gunst include preparing for an interview with detailed, relavent personal questions, the impact of showing instead of telling, and the importance of prioritizing audio quality above all else.

Ultimately, MEJO 121 has offered me a unique avenue of experimenting with digital storytelling while simultaneously expressing my passion for optometry. Furthermore, I have not only learned a lot about producing compelling online narratives, but also gained numerous helpful insights into analyzing the modern media industry, and I would definitely recommend the class, specifically with Professor Eddy, to other UNC students!

Additional Note: I have linked below Professor Eddy's YouTube channel which includes his personal bio alongside msuch of his professional media/podcasting work.