Media and Integrity in Phoenix | College of Business & Communication

Comm Students visit the Arizona Diamondbacks during a networking visit in 2025.

Comm Students visit the Arizona Diamondbacks during a networking visit in 2025.

During a trip to Phoenix, a group of BYU-Idaho Communication Department students learned some things that are rapidly changing in their professions - and some things that never change.

The trip represented the once-a-semester internship and networking expedition. Students visited several organizations and learned about working in the communication field. The trip marked the first time the communication department has done an internship expedition to the Phoenix area. About a dozen communication students and four faculty made up the trip, which occurred June 11 to the 13.

Students learned about the rapidly changing communication and media field.

For example, on June 12, the group visited the Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center at the Sidney Poitier New American Film School campus of Arizona State University in Mesa. The group received a tour of the facility - including a graduate program teaching the latest in film and other immersive technology. Students completed virtual reality experiences in entertainment and education.

They also visited the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and toured the modern journalism school there learning about ASU's award-winning graduate programs in both journalism, digital media and public relations. The school, which has taken BYU-Idaho graduates, continues to be a leading media school.

There, the director of the Arizona Media Association, Joe Hengemuehler, met with students and discussed jobs in media and journalism at the more than 400 news and media associations in Arizona, including the Arizona Local News Foundation's recent work to get 15 journalists in to local newsrooms for the next two years with grants to cover local news and education issues.

At Ciphers Digital Marketing in Gilbert, the students met Mike Rux, a remarkable entrepreneur whose successful company relies on freelancers and relationships to build one of Arizona's leading digital agencies. He even posted the visit on his website and on YouTube.

Rux walked students through several case studies of digital marketing for companies as diverse as plumbers and lawyers and schools. He taught that while he used AI to create amazing video content on WordPress websites, it was hard work and relationships that make the difference for his clients and for business.

Students also learned the power of AI in the creative endeavor when the crew at one of Arizona's most successful and venerable advertising agencies, Larry John Wright Advertising. The agency taught students discussed how they used AI to generate creative ideas for their humorous takes on advertising for local companies. The agency films and writes and produces its own award-winning commercials.

One of BYU-Idaho's recent graduates, Gaby Tirado, hosted students at Phoenix's successful and impressive Univision news operation. Students watched a live news broadcast and learned about journalism values and challenges facing Hispanic audiences in Arizona and the pressures and joys of news work. Gaby is a morning news reporter who arrives at work at 3 in the morning to do a variety of news reporting.

Students went to the west valley in downtown Glendale and visited Influence Media, a video production and studio shop. The owners showed their work with more than 100 companies and described the film and video business in the valley. They talked of videos they wouldn't make and clients they wouldn't work with. They build sets and produce a wide variety of small and even larger productions.

Brett Hansen of the professional baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and his media and public relations team hosted the students, teaching them about the production of a Major League Baseball games 81 nights a year. Students saw press trucks and toured the media facilities as the Diamondbacks were preparing for an evening game.

BYU-Idaho Communication graduation Marc LeFevre met the group at the Tempe Stake Center and passionately and skillfully discussed resumes, networking and career trajectories. LeFevre is a president of the Careers Launch Talent Group. Students learned how to make a resume more able to overcome the bots that screen out resumes. He suggested new resumes for each job and a deep focus on creating resumes that meets described skills listed in job advertisements.

Candace Copple, the communications director for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Phoenix area spoke to the students at the Mesa Visitors' Center across the street from the historic Mesa Arizona Temple. Sister Copple also set up some of the other visits for the students and contributed much of her time to make things work.

Sister Copple talked of the relationships she and her team work to build for the Church in Mesa, including significant efforts during the Mesa Easter Pageant each year. She also spoke of communication challenges she faced in her career.

Finally, students had a deep conversation about the timeless value of integrity in times of challenge. Rusty Bower, a talented Latter-day Saint artist who sculpted statues at Martin's Cove in Wyoming, served as speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives during the election aftermath of 2020. He listened to complaints of fraud, but not seeing sufficient evidence of voter fraud, refused to bow to the pressure of political operatives who asked him to take steps that might overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.

**BYU-Idaho students visit Rusty Bowers, the former speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, at the Mesa Visitors' Center during a trip to Phoenix, June 11, to June 13, 2025.**

**BYU-Idaho students visit Rusty Bowers, the former speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, at the Mesa Visitors' Center during a trip to Phoenix, June 11, to June 13, 2025.**

Bower's choices led to threats and malicious attacks, and doxing and swatting - all during a tender personal time when his daughter was dying.

He lost his political career as a result, but Bower expressed no regret but told students that courage comes from fear and is a choice decided long before the moment comes.

Bower told students that despite the remarkable challenges he faced, that he felt peace during the ordeal because of Jesus Christ. He told students that he has read the Book of Mormon 100 times and that its warnings of difficult days to come, especially described in 3rd Nephi 21, should be heeded, but there are good things to come too. He said the Book of Mormon is true.

That's about the most important and most timeless thing they could learn.