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Spring 2025: 2 minutes with Rory Fitzgerald Bledsoe

Jayden Fortner — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 19:23:47 +0000

Spring 2025: 2 minutes with Rory Fitzgerald Bledsoe Jayden Fortner Mon, 02/02/2026 - 12:23

Joe Arney

Rory Fitzgerald Bledsoe
PhD Candidate, Media Studies

Rory Fitzgerald Bledsoe is a PhD candidate in media studies who runs a multimodal art gallery, Space__Space, in East Boulder. Her first exhibition, “Phones are Heavy,” ran from November through January; “Archive Fever Dream” opens in March.

Why did you want to open a gallery?
This space is public scholarship. I’m interested in creating discourse on cultural issues that transcend the limits of the law. I also ran a gallery in Boston where I gave solo shows to artists who hadn’t had one before, and it’s gratifying to elevate emerging artists and underrepresented ideas.

Was there a gallery you had in mind as you envisioned what Space__Space could look like?
I did an artist/curatorial residency in New York, at Flux Factory, and that has been a big influence on my drive for cultivating experimentation and community.

Something you hope visitors notice as they walk through the gallery?
The work, of course. And maybe the sunset-pink trim. Pink has connotations of being frivolous, but I see it as subversive—a power color. So I put it in the bottom trim around the gallery, where it’s a secret signature that doesn’t get in the way of the work.

Tell me about those sunsets.
I’m used to underground, windowless art spaces in New York and Boston. From the back of Space__Space, you can see mountains, and from the front, you get the sunset. Someday, I want to do a site-specific installation that harnesses sunsets, because they are so spectacular.

Biggest surprise?
Being able to do it. Every time you take the risk of creating something—like in Boston, running Space 121 out of my apartment, I wasn’t sure what would happen. But I’ve started to believe if you build it, when there is a thirst, they will come.

Wait, the gallery in Boston was out of your apartment? What did your landlord say about that?
They never found out. (Laughs) We had openings; we just called them parties.

Last one. A favorite work from your first exhibit?
The brilliant Flora Wilds flew in to install her sculptures, which was a magical collaboration. But I will say everyone who came in had a different favorite, and that is a mark of a resonant and successful show.

A selection of works from Space__Space’s inaugural exhibit, which closed in January. From left, works by Maya Buffett-Davis, a CU Boulder graduate student; Ana González Barragán; Devon Narine-Singh; and Flora Wilds. Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StratComm’18).

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college

Rory Fitzgerald Bledsoe is a PhD candidate in media studies who runs a multimodal art gallery, Space__Space, in East Boulder.

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Spring 2025

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Spring 2025: 2 minutes with Max Pollak

Jayden Fortner — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 19:09:57 +0000

Spring 2025: 2 minutes with Max Pollak Jayden Fortner Mon, 02/02/2026 - 12:09

Hannah Stewart

Max Pollak (Advert'10)
Creative Director, Deutsch LA

After years away from Boulder, Pollak returned to CU for a collaboration between NerdWallet and Travis Hunter. Pollak and his team shot a video where Hunter talked about the “Smartest NIL” campaign and a giveaway where fans could win a collectible cutout piece of Hunter’s contract with the brand. The highlight for Pollak? A selfie with “Heisman” Hunter.

How did you land Travis Hunter? In his Heisman season, no less?
I’m a huge CU fan with season tickets, and it just so happens that NerdWallet already has a partnership with CU. I knew Travis Hunter would be a great brand ambassador, and we even sneaked into the Coach Prime documentary.

As to the Heisman, I thought he should win it and I thought there was a big chance. I’m happy it happened, but I can’t say I predicted it.

You used to be a firefighter. What’s something memorable about that job?
You never want something bad to happen—but there’s [an adrenaline rush] when you hear the bells and sirens.

My best friend—also a volunteer, now with FDNY—and I were driving to a car show when we got the page that his house went up in flames. We had to put out a fire that was going through his house, which we had played in as kids. It makes you sympathize with people.

Best compliment you’ve ever received?
I was at Barchetta recently and my wife was sitting there with our kid, and this guy walked up to me and said, “You have a great spot”—meaning the table in the restaurant. I thought it was weird, but I said, “Yeah, I know.” He was like, “Wow, how confident!” and walked away. I saw my wife was dying laughing, and she told me what he actually said was, “You have a great smile!”

Hannah Stewart graduated from CMDI in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news for the college.

After years away from Boulder, Max Pollak returned to CU for a collaboration between NerdWallet and Travis Hunter.

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Spring 2025

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Fall 2024: 2 minutes with Jill Painter Lopez

Ellie Chase — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 19:08:02 +0000

Fall 2024: 2 minutes with Jill Painter Lopez Ellie Chase Mon, 02/02/2026 - 12:08

Joe Arney

Jill Painter Lopez (Jour’94)
Reporter and analyst for CBS/KCAL Los Angeles

Lopez was the only local journalist granted an interview with Caitlin Clark when she accepted the Wooden Award for outstanding collegiate basketball player this spring.

How did you score the interview?
It goes back to my CU journalism days. We were always taught about developing your sources and being aware. I knew the Wooden Award executives and watched the schedule, and so that’s how I got it.

How does interviewing someone like Clark change how you prepare?
I don’t think it did—the research you do for an interview should be the same, whether that’s a 13-year-old golfer or the most polarizing player in basketball.

Your three favorite athlete interviews.
Kobe Bryant, John Elway, Tiger Woods.

Favorite college memory?
The CU-Nebraska game in 1991. I grew up on Broncos football, my family had season tickets, we love football—and I can’t believe I left at halftime because it was below freezing. It ended up in a 19-19 tie.

Favorite place to visit in Colorado?
Fort Collins—not because of Colorado State! It’s where I grew up. I love to get back to Boulder every year, but Fort Collins is my favorite.

Best part of your job?
Telling people’s stories. I love to bring out what makes people unique. I’ve been doing it for a long time, and I still love it.

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

Jill Painter Lopez was the only local journalist granted an interview with Caitlin Clark when she accepted the Wooden Award for outstanding collegiate basketball player this spring.

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Fall 2024

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Fall 2024: 2 minutes with Huck Sorock

Jayden Fortner — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 18:45:09 +0000

Fall 2024: 2 minutes with Huck Sorock Jayden Fortner Mon, 02/02/2026 - 11:45

Joe Arney

Huck Sorock (StratComm’23), Co-founder and CEO of Refr Sports

Refr Sports

As a CMDI student, Sorock created Refr Sports, which digitizes how youth sports leagues schedule, hire and pay referees. He took second prize in CU Boulder’s 2024 New Venture Challenge.

You want to make life easier for referees. That puts you in pretty small company.
I started reffing in high school, where I saw a lot of problems with the industry, in terms of how you’re scheduled to work and long delays before you get paid.

Tell me about the business.
We’ve basically built a CRM, or customer relationship management, platform for referee assigners—who schedule refs to work youth games—to manage their business, while offering technology to help refs pick up games and get paid faster.

Describe your team.
My co-founder and I complement each other well. While I focus on the front end—raising capital, sales and marketing—he handles the back end with his technical and analytical expertise, managing operations and leading our team of developers.

How did you start a business as a college kid?
I was bred into entrepreneurship. My dad is a serial entrepreneur and when it came to jobs—which he always called “the J-word”—he’d say, “We make those. We don’t get them.”

Best part of your job?
Learning—from doing and from my network. I’m a young entrepreneur. I’d rather learn from someone else’s $50,000 mistake than make that mistake on my own.

Photo by Glenn Asakawa (Jour'86)

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

As a CMDI student, Huck Sorock created Refr Sports, which digitizes how youth sports leagues schedule, hire and pay referees. He took second prize in CU Boulder’s 2024 New Venture Challenge.

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Fall 2024

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Fall 2024: 2 minutes with Gregory Bull

Ellie Chase — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 18:43:47 +0000

Fall 2024: 2 minutes with Gregory Bull Ellie Chase Mon, 02/02/2026 - 11:43

Malinda Miller

Gregory Bull (Jour'91)
Associated Press photographer

Bull started covering the U.S.-Mexico border as a newspaper photographer in 1994. In May, he was part of an AP team that won a Pulitzer Prize for how they covered migrants’ journeys into the United States.

Where is this photo set?
Hundreds of asylum seekers were caught between Tijuana and San Diego in 2023, when the pandemic-era health order that allowed the United States to turn away migrants at the border expired.

This picture was taken as migrants started to realize there were not enough donated supplies for everybody. People were frantically but politely pleading for blankets. My hope, as I shot this, was that it might convey that sense of disorder and urgency we were seeing all along the border.

How was the photo made?
A photo like this is more about connecting with people—achieving a level of trust to where you can kind of disappear and wait for those elements you need to convey that feeling of urgency. Technically, you need a wide enough angle of view to allow for a larger “stage.”

What makes it work?
The bars in the wall provide a dependable vertical pattern, so it was a matter of looking for diagonals to break that up. The woman’s hand at right brought this picture together. But design elements aside, I think this picture mostly works because of the look of despair on the face of the woman at center. For me, she embodied the overall emotion people were grappling with.

Malinda Miller graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences with a degree in English in 1992 and Masters in Journalism in 1998.

Gregory Bull started covering the U.S.-Mexico border as a newspaper photographer in 1994. In May, he was part of an AP team that won a Pulitzer Prize for how they covered migrants’ journeys into the United States.

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Fall 2024

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2 minutes with Hannah Kijner

Hannah Stewart — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 21:14:12 +0000

2 minutes with Hannah Kijner Hannah Stewart Wed, 01/21/2026 - 14:14

Hannah Stewart

Hannah Kijner Strategic communication

When Hannah Kijner stepped foot on the CU Boulder campus as a first-year student, she never dreamed that by joining a student organization, she’d have the opportunity to network with public relations professionals at a national conference in Washington, D.C.

Now a senior, Kijner has spent the last four years studying public relations at CU Boulder’s College of Communication, Media, Design and Information.

“I love storytelling, and I didn’t want to stop enjoying writing for fun. Strategic communication is business-y, but it leaves more room for creativity than most majors,” she said.

That passion led her to the school’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, which gave her the chance to represent the college at the national ICON conference, in October. She credited Dawn Doty, then-PRSSA advisor, and the club’s president, Leah Szabo, with encouraging her to be involved.

Kijner was part of a team that collaborated with the PRSSA team from Colorado State �Թ�� to raise approximately $10,000 toward the trip.

“When students go to conferences, like ICON, a lot of pieces start to click together because they’re practicing professional skills,” said Jolene Fisher, an associate professor in the Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Design and faculty advisor for the group.

We chatted with Kijner about her experience at ICON and what she learned.

Responses edited for length and clarity.

Tell me about how you got involved with PRSSA and the ICON fundraising team.
Last summer, I applied to be one of the summer fundraiser and volunteer coordinators. We did a lot of email outreach to raise money. That’s when I learned it’s all about networking—it’s being kind, following up, seeing who’s in your area and using LinkedIn. And preparing yourself to hear no, a lot.

Over the summer, we raised a little more than $5,000 for each school and also got to attend events like the Gold Pick Awards. That was cool because I got to get to know people from different PR firms in Denver. A lot of those people were also at ICON in the fall—so while the big conference was intimidating at first, I got to see the CSU people that I worked with and other familiar faces.

Favorite part about ICON?
Lauren Graham’s keynote—she's been my idol since I was young. I’ve always loved writing, so she really hit home with me when she talked about universal ideas. I really liked how she talked about prioritizing moments people can connect to.

It was also really cool listening to Kamala Harris' speechwriter, Stephen Kelly. I really loved when he talked about taking your writing to happy hour. You have to remember your audience isn't always the industry, it's people. So, it’s important to make your message clear, concise and understandable for everyone.

Would you say that was your biggest takeaway?
My biggest takeaway is you can make your own connections. If you work hard enough, and you put yourself out there, you’ll have the opportunity. It's all about hard work, dedication and then finding your community, which is everything.

I made a ton of connections at ICON, but my goal was really to make a few very good ones. The professional world can be competitive, but it’s important to have fun at these conferences and take the time to listen to people and make friends.

When you get out of school, a lot of people will have a resume very similar to yours. So what's gonna make you stand out? It’s those people who know you and share those connections.

Hannah Stewart graduated from CMDI in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news for the college.

Ahead of her senior year, Hannah Kijner helped PRSSA raise money to send five strategic communication students to the national ICON conference where they networked and learned from public relations professionals.

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Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Abby Boutrous

Regan Widergren — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 23:33:56 +0000

Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Abby Boutrous Regan Widergren Mon, 11/17/2025 - 16:33

Hannah Stewart

Abby Boutrous (CritMedia’24), Introspection

Abby Boutrous loves connecting with her film subjects. Her film, Introspection, took her to the slopes alongside Jess Cohen (IntPhys’24), and won a Heartland Student Emmy. After living and working in Oregon since graduating, she’ll be moving back to Colorado to work for Moonrise Creative Studio.

Responses edited for length and clarity.

Tell me about Introspection.
A lot of ski films are dudes ripping it in the park; it’s a highlight reel, basically. I’ve been a skier for a long time, and I wanted to dig deeper into the inner thoughts and feelings athletes have while doing bold things.

It seems like it was the best of both worlds, with documentary and the outdoors.
Spending quiet time in nature is the biggest thing I do. I wish I got paid to walk around outside and just be one with nature. I love telling stories about women. I even documented my own path starting in my first year at CU with a health and wellness page, Abundantly.Abby.

What’s the best part of your job?
You get to learn about yourself while learning about others. You’re telling stories and connecting with hundreds of thousands of people.

Why short-form content?
You get 30 seconds to grab someone’s attention. I like the rush of creating impactful stories and a community around them.

Most valuable lesson?
To trust the process. I didn’t go straight into a job after graduation, which was tough. But wherever you are, that’s where you’re meant to be. Things have a way of working out if you put in the effort and gravitate toward what’s driving you.

Hannah Stewart graduated from CMDI in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news for the college.

A regular feature catching up with people in our community who are doing interesting and impactful work. In this issue, a recent alumna who won an Emmy for her short film.

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Fall 2025

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Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Kathy Grewe

Regan Widergren — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 23:29:36 +0000

Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Kathy Grewe Regan Widergren Mon, 11/17/2025 - 16:29

Joe Arney

Kathy Grewe (EnvDes’76)

Interventional cardiologist (retired)

Proving career paths are rarely a straight line, Grewe practiced medicine in her Portland, Oregon, hometown after completing her environmental design degree. She and her husband, also a cardiologist, retired in 2019.

Responses edited for length and clarity.

How does one go from designer to doctor?
I graduated during a recession, when no one was building or designing anything. So, I came back to Portland and worked three jobs at once—as a phlebotomist, a typist and waitressing in a Chinese restaurant—before going back to school as a science major.

Why medicine?
My family has always been in medicine—my dad was a doctor, and my mom was a nurse—so I was familiar with the work. Actually, I was in the same med school class as two of my brothers.

That must have been incredible.
Our class was great—we had so much fun. And, if I missed a class, I could get notes from my brothers. We’re still super close.

How could you not be, after that? Is that why you went home to practice?
I didn’t go home right away—but I was homesick. I trained in San Antonio and Atlanta after graduating, and I acquired a thick Southern accent. I’d call around Portland asking about jobs, and people would say, “Where are you from?” “Oh, I’m from Portland, Oregon, bless your heart.”

How did studying design influence your career?
I learned to frame and solve problems, and think about different opportunities and resources. Our designs had to answer Bronislaw Malinowski’s seven basic needs—nutrition, safety, movement, reproduction, comfort, growth and relaxation. And each applies to medicine.

Tell me a favorite CU memory.
I went streaking!

OK. I’m listening.
At the time, there was always some guy streaking across a football game, or through a classroom. And there was—well, probably a stretch to call it a plan, but once, a bunch of naked people met in Folsom Field, and we booked it across campus. My mom split a gut laughing when I told her.

Something you miss about Boulder?
Ralphie. I’m not a football fan, but I had a season ticket every year, and when Ralphie came out, that was my highlight.

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

A regular feature catching up with people in our community who are doing interesting and impactful work. In this edition, can design make you a better doctor? Kathy Grewe says she used lessons from her environmental design degree every day as an interventional cardiologist.

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Fall 2025

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Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Bennett Spector

Regan Widergren — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 23:10:37 +0000

Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Bennett Spector Regan Widergren Mon, 11/17/2025 - 16:10

Iris Serrano

Bennett Spector
Executive vice president and general manager, Bleacher Report, Comm'18

“Whenever I saw something I wanted to achieve, I didn’t wait,” Spector said. That drive is why he’s been so successful in his career, including his current stop at one of the largest digital sports media properties.

Responses edited for length and clarity.

So, tell me the best part of working at Bleacher Report.
Solving problems for sports fans, because I’m a sports fan. When I’m thinking about what we should do in our app, website or on social media, I’m thinking about giving millions of users a better fan experience.

Favorite sport?
My favorite to watch live is college football. On TV, probably the NBA.

Favorite CU memory?
I spent a summer interning for Jared Polis, who’s now governor of Colorado. After long days, I would ride my bike down to the river to meet friends. It was the perfect balance of work and play.

What did you take away from that internship?
That’s where I learned to have a work ethic. The campaign manager brought us into a room and said, ‘We’re trying to get someone into Congress—you need to lock in or it won’t happen.’’ That was a good kick in the butt, to understand if I want to get something done, I need to show up 100%.

How did you go from politics to sports media?
It doesn’t matter if you’re working in politics, entertainment or sports—media is a very transferable skill. And, it’s a valuable skill—to take the landscape of what you see and distill it down for whoever and wherever your audience is.

Tell me about a challenge that helped you grow.
Early on, I was competing for a job with another intern. Instead of waiting for the world to come to me, I went to my boss and proposed why I was a good fit for the role. I live by the mantra that the worst someone can say is no.

What’s next?
Continuing to grow Bleacher Report for the next generation of fans. I'm in an amazing spot—my dream job is just doing what I'm doing today

Iris Serrano is studying strategic communication and journalism at CMDI. She covers student news and events for the college.

A regular feature catching up with people in our community who are doing interesting and impactful work. In this edition, Bleacher Report.

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Fall 2025

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Summer 2025: 2 minutes with Antoinette Kendrick

Amanda J. McManus — Wed, 28 May 2025 18:29:42 +0000

Summer 2025: 2 minutes with Antoinette Kendrick Amanda J. McManus Wed, 05/28/2025 - 12:29

Antoinette Kendrick
PhD student, media studies

“One minute, I’m sharing my phone with Deion Sanders, showing him the app,” said Antoinette Kendrick, recalling her visit to a CMCI course that features Coach Prime as a frequent guest lecturer. “Next, he starts calling Snoop, and suddenly I’m on a FaceTime with him. It’s going be a highlight of my life, for sure.”

Responses edited for length and clarity.

So you got Snoop Dogg to come to class. What will you do for an encore?
I was there as a guest, and didn’t want to interrupt the class. The students were pitching ways Prime could expand his brand. But at the end, he’s still asking, “Anyone else?” so I told him about Speechify, a text-to-speech platform with only two Black male voices—a stolen likeness of Barack Obama, and Snoop.

And then he called Snoop.
It was sur(actual)real. Surreal! Honestly, my first thought was, this is where the academy can take you—like, I can be on a Thursday night Facetime with Snoop, who just looks like someone’s grandfather in a regular den.

Speaking of the academy, how does a social worker get to CMCI?
Working with kids illuminated to me what the digital age looks like for them—and how little guidance they have navigating these spaces. My supervisors suggested the problem needed to be studied at a research level. I found social work programs were not meaningfully engaging with media, so I looked at media studies.

Children’s media literacy must be a fascinating topic.
I’m actually looking at tech stress in young adults. I think it’s because I live in a sorority house—

Wait. You live where?
(Laughs.) Well, it’s a refurbished sorority house. A couple years ago the sorority disbanded. The owner rents to students, and I get reduced rates for being house mom.

How does that influence your research?
You see the stresses they encounter. At the low scale is how they respond to the three dots in their messages. Large scale, one girl broke up with her partner because he was looking at pictures of her friend on another social media platform. We have not navigated how to negotiate these encounters.

Back to Prime. Will the experience in the course change how you teach?
Prime comes to class with so much energy, which I think these young white students have never seen. And he doesn’t code switch. He stays true to himself in this highly regimented space. I’d like to do more of that.

A regular feature catching up with people in our community who are doing interesting and impactful work. In this edition, bringing Snoop Dogg to a media studies class.

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Summer 2025

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2 minutes

Spring 2025: 2 minutes with Rory Fitzgerald Bledsoe

Rory Fitzgerald BledsoePhD Candidate, Media Studies

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Spring 2025: 2 minutes with Max Pollak

Max Pollak (Advert'10)Creative Director, Deutsch LA

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Fall 2024: 2 minutes with Jill Painter Lopez

Jill Painter Lopez (Jour’94)Reporter and analyst for CBS/KCAL Los Angeles

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Fall 2024: 2 minutes with Huck Sorock

Huck Sorock (StratComm’23), Co-founder and CEO of Refr Sports

Refr Sports

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Fall 2024: 2 minutes with Gregory Bull

Gregory Bull (Jour'91)Associated Press photographer

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2 minutes with Hannah Kijner

Hannah Kijner Strategic communication

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Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Abby Boutrous

Abby Boutrous (CritMedia’24), Introspection

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Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Kathy Grewe

Kathy Grewe (EnvDes’76)

Interventional cardiologist (retired)

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Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Bennett Spector

Bennett SpectorExecutive vice president and general manager, Bleacher Report, Comm'18

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Summer 2025: 2 minutes with Antoinette Kendrick

Antoinette KendrickPhD student, media studies

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Rory Fitzgerald Bledsoe
PhD Candidate, Media Studies

Max Pollak (Advert'10)
Creative Director, Deutsch LA

Jill Painter Lopez (Jour’94)
Reporter and analyst for CBS/KCAL Los Angeles

Gregory Bull (Jour'91)
Associated Press photographer

Bennett Spector
Executive vice president and general manager, Bleacher Report, Comm'18

Antoinette Kendrick
PhD student, media studies