By Stacey Tadlock

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A spring graduate from Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Media and Entertainment is celebrating his success a mile at a time after dedicating his focus to one major goal — graduating with his bachelor’s degree in interactive media.

As a nontraditional student, Lee Johns commuted six hours round trip from his hometown of Loretto, Tennessee, to campus twice a week for five semesters so he could attend classes in person. He also completed an internship in Nashville last summer.

Johns said returning to college wasn’t easy. He struggled at first with feeling out of place among younger classmates and trying to balance his travel-heavy schedule. His perseverance resulted in graduating with magna cum laude honors.

“I never thought I’d be the one going back to school later in life,” he said. “Trying to make a two-day-a-week schedule was tough, but my advisor, Nancy Stubblefield, was incredible. She helped me plan every semester to make it all doable.”

‘Asking for help changed everything’

Johns said there were moments he questioned his decision to return to college.

“During my first semester, I felt overwhelmed and started doubting if I even belonged here, but I reminded myself how far I’d come and leaned on the people around me,” he said.

And things changed for the better after doing something most people avoid doing.

“Asking for help changed everything,” Johns said, crediting much of his success to the support he received along the way.

“My dad was my rock through it all — whether it was car troubles, unexpected expenses, or just reminding me why I started this in the first place.”

Besides his family, he also found encouragement and support on campus.

“Nancy Stubblefield (his advisor) was a lifesaver, and professors Carla Fox and Todd O’Neill were the backbone of my time in the Interactive Media Program. I am so thankful for my capstone classmates — they were incredible,” he said.

Stubblefield said she “was impressed with Lee because he was very proactive and met with me early to work on his schedule.”

“I knew it was going to be challenging to prepare a schedule that would limit the number of days he had to drive to campus (but) he really liked MTSU and our interactive media degree and decided it was worth driving the distance to earn the degree he wanted.”

‘Just focus on why you’re here’

Johns said he grew up with limited internet access, and that is partly what drew him to MTSU’s Interactive Media Program within the Department of Media Arts.

“I realized I had very little experience with social media, apps and the online world in general,” he explained. “The main reason I chose the College of Media and Entertainment was because I realized how essential the internet has become no matter what job you go into these days, there’s some element of digital media or tech involved.

“This felt like a chance to finally catch up, learn how it works and build skills that could help me in just about any career I might pursue.”

When asked what he’s most proud of during his time at MTSU, Jones said his team’s capstone project — a card game called Famously Dead.

“It was chaos at times —we felt more like firefighters than designers — but we created something real, something people enjoyed. That made it all worth it,” he said.

While he’s still working on what’s next after graduating, he’s OK with that.

“I plan to keep working on Famously Dead and hopefully finish it as a full game,” he said. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll see it on a store shelf one day.”

To others who are thinking about going back to school as untraditional students, Johns encourages them to take that leap of faith.

“Don’t worry about your age or your background. Just focus on why you’re here. Be yourself, talk to people, and make connections. You never know who’ll help you — or who you might help along the way,” he said.

To learn more about MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment, visit https://media.mtsu.edu/.

— Stacey Tadlock (Stacey.Tadlock@mtsu.edu)
— DeAnn Hays (deann.hays@mtsu.edu)