Missouri School of Journalism’s Jon Stemmle wins Post-Secondary Professional of the Year Award
Jon Stemmle receives his award from April Fiesler Avery, president of MEMO.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Aug. 5, 2024) — Jon Stemmle, a strategic communication professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, has won the Post-Secondary Professional of the Year Award from the Marketing Educators of Missouri (MEMO), previously known as the Marketing Cooperative Education Association (MCEA).
The award recognizes Stemmle’s collaborative work with a variety of education organizations, including DECA, a career prep organization for high school and college students; the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE); and MEMO. This collaboration has manifested most notably in Stemmle’s creation and leadership of the AdZou Challenge, which brings teams of students from high schools across Missouri to the School of Journalism, where they compete to create the best advertising campaign.
“Jon has created tremendous impacts for high school students by earnestly engaging with teachers and organizations all over the state,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism. “This is first-hand advertising experience and professional input that students can’t get anywhere else, and it helps give Missouri’s future scholars and strategic communicators a leg up.”
After viewing presentations of capstone projects from graduating seniors in MOJO Ad, one of the School’s professional ad agencies, high school teams participating in the challenge are then given one hour to create their own campaigns. But while the entire experience lasts only a day, its existence depends on teamwork between Stemmle and host of organizations and individuals.
“Jon has been a great partner for marketing education and Missouri DECA,” said Denise Stafford, a MEMO Awards Committee member, during an awards luncheon at the annual Missouri ACTE Summer Conference. “He has worked with our marketing teachers, DESE staff, and the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism to create and grow the AdZou Challenge.”
Extending the Missouri Method
“This was completely unexpected,” Stemmle said. “That’s always the best — when you don’t see it coming. I come from a family of educators, so that makes this extra meaningful.”
Stemmle added that having teachers as parents has given him insights into how to help educators prepare high school students for successful futures.
“I know that teachers are often faced with limited resources, and they are always looking for opportunities for their students to get experience,” Stemmle said. “By creating the AdZou Challenge, we were able to do that.”
The challenge is a prominent example of how Stemmle and the other faculty at the School of Journalism work to not only help Mizzou students prepare for their careers, but strive to extend the impact of the Missouri Method of hands-on learning to well outside the physical boundaries of the campus and the local community.
“Taking the things kids are learning in class and putting them into the practical applications that Jon lays out — you can’t get any more lifelike than that, education-wise,” said Larry Anders, the Missouri state high school DECA advisor. “When we started this three years ago, we didn’t know how it was going to develop, but each year it has gotten better and better.”
This year is no exception. For the first time, the Adzou Challenge will be statewide and will feature all 12 school districts in the state. Rather than a single day of competition at Mizzou in December, the challenge will begin in October with district-level competitions that will determine which team from each district competes for the state title in December.
Stemmle said the bigger the event becomes, the more opportunities there are to introduce high school students to what the School of Journalism has to offer.
“When I talk to the students, a lot of them are talking about marketing, and they’re talking about the creative side, the advertising, the public relations,” he said. “Some of them may not realize that’s exactly what we do, even though we’re in the School of Journalism. It’s a showcase for what is possible here.”
Of course, the benefits aren’t solely for the students. Stemmle also provides professional development presentations during the annual Missouri ACTE conference, and the challenge’s timing is intended provide teachers with a creative and compelling way to engage their students at an otherwise slower time of year (DECA is most active during the spring).
“Our marketing teachers really appreciate everything Jon has done for them,” said Leslie Crider, DESE’s liaison to MEMO. “It’s not just the professional development he has given us, but he is just a great advocate for what we do. He really sees the importance of what we do and how something like the AdZou Challenge can benefit us.”
The state finals for this year’s AdZou Challenge will take place Monday, Dec. 2, on the School of Journalism’s campus.
Updated: August 5, 2024