Digital Storytelling for Student Voice
When stories about place are repeated often enough, they harden into “truth” – even when they are incomplete, flattened, or wrong. Angel Perez, an alum of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program and a current student in the Emerging Media (MA) program, is working to interrupt that cycle. At the First-Generation, Lower-Income (FGLI) Consortium Annual Conference hosted by Johns Hopkins University, Perez presented Camden Unveiled: Ethical Storytelling as a Tool for FGLI Student Advocacy, a session supported by a competitive travel and research grant. Framing his work around narrative ownership, he underscored the stakes of the moment: “We must remain in control of our own stories; otherwise, they will be told for us. In a climate where narratives can be rewritten at any moment, this work feels more important than ever.”
The presentation drew from Camden Unveiled, a five-week digital storytelling initiative developed as part of a summer bridge program for incoming first-year students admitted to Rutgers University–Camden. Perez described how student-driven media production can serve as advocacy, enabling FGLI students to challenge deficit-based portrayals of their communities while building durable skills in storytelling, ethical reflection, and collaboration. The program is grounded in practices that center lived experience, elevate student agency, and prioritize accountability to participants and local partners.
Workshop participants engaged directly with student-created work from the 2024 and 2025 cohorts, including mini-documentaries, podcasts, and photo essays exploring public safety, environmental justice, education equity, and personal identity. Perez also discussed the pedagogical structure underpinning the program and shared tools for adapting this model in other college-based settings, noting its relevance for student success initiatives as well as admissions, advancement, marketing, and development. Positioned as an institutional intervention, the work advances ethical storytelling as a way to honor complexity, resist reductive narratives, and invite FGLI students to tell stories that matter.
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Master the Tools of Tomorrow in Emerging Media
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, proficiency in emerging media is essential. Rutgers University–Camden offers two innovative graduate programs—the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.) in Emerging Media/Digital Studies—designed to equip students with practical skills in digital media production, fluency across multiple software platforms, and a deep understanding of the cultural impact of digital media. Through a transdisciplinary approach, the curriculum encompasses digital storytelling, interaction design, and ethical considerations, preparing graduates to lead and innovate in the dynamic fields of media and communication.
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