Faculty
Mike Wells
Media School lecturer and his path
Mike Wells, Media School lecturer
“I went to a small school out in the Pacific Northwest called Central Washington University. In fact, they didn’t have a media school or journalism school, and so I knew I was going to have to work a lot harder than those students who were graduating from IU, Northwestern, Missouri.
When I was in school, I worked in the media relations office. I took a TV broadcasting class. I worked for the campus newspaper. I worked in the campus athletics department. I knew I had to make myself versatile.
My friends were in the Pacific Northwest sending me a text saying ‘I saw you on ESPN. You finally made it.’ I think that was the pinnacle of my career. That same college student who said he wanted to work at ESPN finally reached his career goal. I remember every detail of working with ESPN. Even students now, when I ask ‘What are your goals?,’ they say, ‘I want to work with ESPN.’
I knew I wanted to be a journalist, but I also had a passion for education. More and more, I would guest speak at universities. I had been in the journalism field for 20 plus years, and I achieved what I wanted to do in that area. To be able to come to a school like IU, I just couldn’t pass it up.”
Written By Helen Rummel
Photos By Jordan Venckus