Importance of Faculty Advisor for Student Media Programs

It is 90 minutes before tip-off and the media gate has opened for the day’s coverage of the Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Basketball State Tournament at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus. Amid the busyness of pregame preparation along press row, Auna Michler, marketing and communications manager for Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School, is huddling with her student media team for the day: Senior Patrick McDonald and sophomore Addy Brown.

It is Championship Day and McDonald and Brown are there to capture the state tournament experience of the Red Knights and their school community. It would be a celebratory day as Benilde- St. Margaret’s won the Class AAA title for the fourth consecutive season.

In their coverage, Michler and her team strategize the best ways to snap the memory-filled images, harness the sounds of tournament madness and articulate through the written words that will be embraced for decades in the school’s archives.

“Both of our students were beyond excited to attend,” Michler said. “I could tell both of them were a little nervous, given the larger venue and huge crowd, but they saw this opportunity for the massive privilege that it is and took it as a chance to learn more about sports media, not only from me, but from other professionals at the game.”

The Minnesota State High School League is one of several state associations that offer a Student and School Media Coverage option to member schools that qualify for a bracketed state tournament event. This experiential learning opportunity provides students with a chance to work shoulder-to-shoulder with professional media as they cover events for their media organizations.

In Minnesota, the faculty advisor role is crucial to the success of the experience. A faculty advisor, an adult employee of the school district, is required to be a part of the student media experience from the moment the students enter the pass gate together, to the time they pack up with tired smiles on their faces. The onsite guidance of a faculty advisor is key in helping students navigate media policies, accessing media areas and learning professional ethics and conduct.

“I think the role of a faculty advisor like Ms. Michler is essential to ensuring that the student media experience runs smoothly,” McDonald said. “Faculty advisors, such as her, manage the stress of the logistics to allow students to work in a professional environment and have an authentic experience without unnecessary worries, so I have a lot of respect and appreciation for the role.”

Brown echoes that.

“No matter what event I am at, I like to keep in mind that I am a student, and I am there to learn,” Brown said. “Having Ms. Michler there is helpful to relieve a lot of stress that can come with game days. Ms. Michler is an incredible advisor. I really couldn’t ask for a better role model. I really couldn’t imagine a lot of these experiences without her. She makes every day feel special, yet professional.”

Michler’s background and experience in covering high school events in her role at the school, as well as during her college days, made it a natural segue to guide students through this learning process. She says she is thankful for her experiences along media rows, which range from photographing games, producing live social media and collaborating on creating school promotional materials.

“Covering these kinds of events is built into my role at Benilde- St. Margaret’s, but even if it wasn’t, I would always say ‘yes’ to this role,” Michler said. “Not only is it a privilege to be so close to the action of the game, but it’s also a privilege to help our student media representatives learn more about a topic they already have a passion for. I also get excited to get to know students who I might not interact with regularly, who share the same passion as I do, and be able to impart some knowledge onto them.”

Michler says that a strong pregame strategy meeting is important prior to student media coverage. Sharing the importance of action shots, team celebrations, emotions from fans, while also including plenty of facial expressions, are keys in capturing the state tournament experience. Knowing what to look for helps them in developing a keen eye while a game is progressing.

In her role, Michler also puts plenty of trust in their creativity and reminds them that their hard work will pay off. She is certainly on site as well to help with various issues like a camera not focusing or settings needing adjustment.

“I prefer to let them do their own thing,” Michler said. “When I meet with them beforehand and tell them what we are looking for, I’m able to be more hands-off with them during the actual event. I want them to be able to learn from themselves, each other and from the professionals around them more than they learn from me. I can tell that the longer the games go on and the further we progress in the tournament, the more confident each of our students will get because they are more comfortable in that environment.”

The interaction with professional media representatives is an additional bonus. Both McDonald and Brown are grateful for not only the chance to the see the professionals in action, but also to be able to ask for wisdom and advice while a game is progressing. They both had positive interactions with photographers representing the Minneapolis-based StarTribune newspaper.

“I have asked for advice from a professional media member, such as when I asked the StarTribune’s Jerry Holt for help during the semifinal game,” McDonald said. “I had briefly chatted with him at the quarterfinal game, and earlier in the semifinal, and he offered me a solution when I was having technical trouble with a lens. It fixed my issue!”

“I love meeting new people and everyone is very friendly and happy to give advice,” Brown said. “I have talked to StarTribune photographers and (representatives) from other news networks. I also learned a lot from my fellow student media, Patrick. He is an amazing leader and very welcoming.”

In many cases, the role of a faculty advisor can continue long after the final horn sounds. There are the layout and design of school and district publications, the writing of stories to accompany the images and sound, and the archiving of materials for decades to come.

Enlisting a faculty advisor can come as a challenge to schools. Not all schools have a built-in administrative model like Benilde-St. Margaret’s that can readily assign an adult school employee for the role. Activities administrators share that educators and other administrative personnel are already stretched thin in their management duties.

“I just cannot recommend enough being a faculty advisor for the student media program,” Michler said. “It’s not just an opportunity for the students to learn and grow, it’s an opportunity for you too! This is your time to observe and soak up as much knowledge as you can in such a fast-paced environment. It is also such a privilege to be in that space, watching your students explore a passion of theirs that they may not have otherwise tapped into. Changing students’ lives is the best part of education, and finding another way for them to express themselves and experience a new learning environment is part of that.”

Brown and McDonald equally encourage students to experience student media opportunities.

“Do it!” Brown said. “Getting out of your comfort zone can be hard, but it is such an amazing community. Take every opportunity – you never know what can come from it. Every day you learn a little more, so continuously pushing yourself to be better will never hurt you in the long run.”

“I tell fellow students that it was an incredible experience that I will never forget, as getting to take photos at such important games, sitting courtside in some of Minnesota’s most historic arenas, and working alongside professionals from major media outlets was eye-opening and motivational,” McDonald said.

Tim Leighton has been communications coordinator for the Minnesota State High School League since 2015 after more than 30 years as a sportswriter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota. He is a member of the High School Today Publications Committee.