LINDEN, NJ — It’s a great feeling for Maurice Jenkins. “It’s still a surreal feeling,” he said.
Jenkins is nominated, along with classmates at Montclair State University, in the News category for his work as a director, producer and writer on “Arizona Stories: Border, Water and Politics.”
He traveled to Arizona to work on the project as part of an “On the Road: Reporting from the Field” class for Montclair News Lab. The program aired in May 2024 on TV34, Montclair Township’s Government Television Access Channel, and covered a wide range of topics in Arizona, including immigration, homelessness, drought and the environmental impact of missions of visitors to the Grand Canyon.
“There’s a travel class every spring semester,” said Jenkins. “I saw the flier for Arizona. I wanted to try journalism. That initial meeting, we’d go to Arizona and report on different issues that underline the state. We had to arrange interviews, set locations, make sure everything was in place months ahead of time. We finally got all our interviews and went in March 2024 for about five or six days. In those five days, we traveled around the state.”
With all the issues the state is facing, homelessness sticks out a lot to Jenkins. “Seeing what these people go through every day, the homeless crisis. The homelessness part was very hard to see with your own eyes,” said Jenkins. “The border was crazy. You can see people get separated from their families.”
Other issues included the lack of water in Arizona and the negatives of tourism and how it affects the Grand Canyon.
“We had uplifting stories as well,” said Jenkins. “I reported on Black culture in Arizona. The Black population is low in Arizona. I wanted to capture the culture.”
As someone who is new to journalism, Jenkins struggled early on with preproduction, such as picking set locations while not in Arizona. There was also the issue of only having so much transportation for everyone involved. With Phoenix two hours to the west and Glendale two hours to the east, sometimes, there were cancellations, because they couldn’t get to an area. “A lot of hiccups you can’t control,” he said.
But the best part for Jenkins was hearing everyone’s story. “That definitely trumps everything. Everyone has their own story. Hearing so many stories is very touching. You can hear people’s passion.”
And doing the project together as a team is something Jenkins says he’ll never forget. He credits Montclair State University professor Steve McCarthy for inspiring him to get onboard with the project. “He’s a very well-respected professor,” Jenkins said. “I definitely wanted to take a class with him.”
Jenkins graduated from Montclair State University in 2024 and Linden High School in 2020. He is still a resident of Linden. Currently, he is a road production assistant for World Wrestling Entertainment, which he calls “an incredible job.”
“I’m really fortunate and blessed,” he said. “It fits who I am. I get to travel the world. I get to work on sports production. I get to embrace my passion and learn a lot as I go.”
Photo Courtesy of Maurice Jenkins