The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) has honored Cronkite School assistant teaching professor Celeste Sepessy with its Media Literacy Higher Education Teacher Award—recognition for her deep commitment and significant contributions to the field.
Sepessy believes media literacy gives students a pathway to be functioning, productive and supportive members of society, and a key connector between journalists and audiences.
“A really cool thing about media literacy is it helps people—not just journalists—be reflective about their place in society and understand how media impacts that,” Sepessy said. “Teaching students how to be more media literate and how to help their audiences be more media literate creates stronger journalists and stronger trust among our audiences.”
Sepessy’s peer, media literacy scholar Kristy Roschke, nominated her for the award, describing her as the “perfect candidate.”
“She’s just a real champion for media literacy at Cronkite and in the community,” Roschke said.
Sepessy has hosted a three-day training in North Macedonia to teach students about media literacy and misinformation, and co-created Mediactive, a free online course designed to help people feel confident in finding credible information. Sepessy also helped design the Cronkite School’s bachelor’s degree in Digital Media Literacy, the nation’s first.
On top of these accomplishments, Sepessy said she is proudest of developing the Cronkite School’s Community Engagement Reporting course.
“The idea was: How can we turn journalism on its head?” Sepessy said. “How do we create journalism that comes from within the community and is not just about the community, but with and for the community?”
The course encourages students to bring the public into the journalistic process, fostering personal connections between reporters and those they write about.
Each year, NAMLE recognizes individuals who have made significant impacts on media literacy; Sepessy was one of nine people honored this year across seven awards.