| Submitted Photo: Kameron Lunon |
| By Shilyn Carheel The Poke Press On the third floor of Kaufman Hall, an office decorated with Scream-themed décor is often filled with students hanging out, laughing and engaging in conversation. That office belongs to none other than mass communication professor Kameron Lunon. Kameron Lunon, an assistant professor at McNeese, teaches video production, public speaking and writing classes. Recently granted tenure and promotion, Lunon has experience in film and media, including recording audiobooks, hosting podcasts and making his own films that appear on streaming services. Lunon has devoted much of his time to his passion for filmmaking, and it shows in his teaching. “Life’s a story,” Lunon says. “That’s how [filmmaking and mass communication] impacted me. That’s why I’m able to look at classes the way I do and turn them into the things I turn them into. What we call my passion, if I had to place it somewhere, I would say creativity. Creativity can be a passion or just a skill. But it’s because of my creativity that I’ve been able to do the majority of the things I’ve done in life.” Lunon has worked on several independent film productions, one of which, “Vilomah,” has streamed on Roku TV. He also has a podcast called “Senseless Horror,” where horror movie reviews and film are discussed. Lunon has also performed audiobook narration, lending his voice to several published works, including “Speedsuit Powers,” which McNeese recognized for receiving a five-star rating during the 2023–2024 academic year. You may walk by Lunon’s office and notice the Scream-decorated room, but it has a deeper meaning. In 2022, Lunon worked as a production assistant on the set of “Scream,” where he helped bring the blockbuster to life. Lunon describes the experience as life-changing and mind-blowing. “I learned that I’m doing everything the way I’m supposed to, because I got to that set and nothing was unfamiliar. It was really like, ‘Holy crap, this is exactly how I run [my own] set.’ So that was very validating.” Outside of his many accomplishments, Lunon is a dedicated professor who loves his students. Teaching, he says, is very important to him. Before his career began, a professor asked him during a scholarship discussion if he wanted to teach children. His initial response was no, but that changed. “I don’t want to be a teacher, I don’t even like them,” Lunon recalled. “And I realized that’s a true statement because apparently, I don’t like them, I love them. The most important part of my job to me is the mentorship I’m able to provide to the future generation.” Lunon’s teaching style doesn’t take the traditional route. For him, finding a fun and engaging story to support textbook lessons works better. He believes that students learn through specific memories. Lunon described using a Michael Keaton-versus-Christian Bale Batman debate in a persuasion class to help students practice building arguments. When he walked into the class, students were having a private discussion about who was the better Batman. In his Writing for Media course, Lunon used the movie “White Chicks” to teach students the fundamentals of news writing, including the inverted pyramid, news values and the five W’s. In his Multimedia News Practices course, Lunon incorporated the television show, “Taskmaster” into a student production project, allowing students to practice filming, interviewing and editing. He expected an audience of about 20 people but ultimately drew approximately 150 attendees. |
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