Facilitative and Passion-Focused Education Flourish in Texas A&M’s Creative Media Lab

Article By: James Francis, Student Intern | BCS Chronicle

What You Need To Know:

• Texas A&M professors, Joey Lopez and Jonathan Guajardo run the creative media lab in Bolton Hall for students to utilize campus resources to explore their interests and complete academic projects.

• The lab has a variety of resources from a podcasting studio, computers for video editing, and gaming equipment from newer generations to vintage collections.

  A new lab space is under construction in Bolton Hall. It’s set to be completed this coming fall semester.

Texas A&M hosts a myriad of resources dedicated to helping students explore their careers and further their education. Within this space lies the Creative Media Lab in Bolton Hall, a unique program that not only guides project development but also takes strides in helping students understand their passions on a deeper level.  

Texas A&M Associate Professors, Dr. Joey Lopez and Dr. Jonathan Guajardo, started the lab as an outlet for students to utilize campus resources to help make their ideas into a reality.

The Creative Media Lab (CML) was founded on the idea of project-based empathy learning, a style of teaching centered around exploring student passions and helping them discover the origins of their passions while they further their knowledge.

Lopez emphasized that understanding your passions makes gaining experience more rewarding.

“Our assumption is that all of our students are geniuses and they will achieve their goals, so take your goals seriously because, when you achieve them, if you’re not really understanding them, it will be a very empty feeling,” said CML Co-Coordinator Joey Lopez.

The lab features vast resources and technologies for a variety of different fields for students to explore, such as a dedicated podcast studio, several generations of video game consoles, a gaming PC, a racing simulator, handheld Sony cameras, video editing software, and more. 

Lopez and Guajardo stress the importance of curating a facilitative lab environment beyond just providing equipment. When a student comes forward with an idea, the Creative Media Lab is with them every step of the way from resource acquisition to project completion. 

“It’s not just all about the technical skills, it’s about the intentionality behind it, the reasons why you make media, and the reasons why you want it to be viewed,” said CML Co-Coordinator, Jonathan Guajardo.  

The lab strives to provide all the resources students need for a project, whether it be physical tools or workshops. Often the lab will host former students and a variety of field experts in workshops to provide a guided learning experience.  

Guajardo and Lopez emphasize the importance of building a community through teamwork and reaching new heights with people rather than just collecting equipment. This structure encourages students to collaborate on their individual projects, strengthening community bonds and providing unique experiences as a result. 

“What I'm looking for is people to feel like they're in a space with endless possibilities,” said Lopez. “My goal is to always have people feel like whether you have the best equipment or not, you've got great minds in a space that are trying to do new and different things than what they thought they were going to be able to do when they walked in.”

While equipment may not be the primary focus of the lab, Lopez and Guajardo are committed to making sure that every resource is available to students. This is highlighted in the development of a brand new lab space under active construction on the first floor of Bolton Hall. The new space will have all the same resources as before, but will feature notable expansions in size and equipment availability. 

Lopez and Guajardo believe that media production plays a critical role in modern academia, and the media lab provides an important piece in advancing education at Texas A&M.  

“Where do we find out and hear everything about engineering? Through media. We find out about scientific breakthroughs through media. When you look at how they actually show everything that they do, it’s through media,” said Lopez. 

The Creative Media Lab is fully committed to making sure students find a way to make their dreams into a reality. In an ever-changing media landscape, the Creative Media Lab is there to help tell stories that need to be told and to give students the tools to carve their own paths to success.