Something on the side

It's a Friday afternoon.  Students trickle in and out of his office to hang out. Portraits of his children speckle the walls.  Colorful Play-Doh figurines line the windowsill. A large sketch of a nude man lying on a couch dominates the area beside his office door, and a bobblehead doll of himself sits on his desk.

This is Jamie LoFiego's office.  For many students in the journalism school, LoFiego is equally a friend and teacher.  He may also be recognized as the host of student produced late-night television show "Up Late," which he and a group of his students started in the spring semester of 2007.  Since then, LoFiego and his students have successfully produced 76 shows.

LoFiego's on-screen and off-screen personalities are as different as day and night. On the show, he usually conducts interviews with a straight face and rarely cracks jokes. Off-screen, a whole other side of LoFiego exists, the side of him that enthusiastically tells outlandish stories and makes witty remarks.

LoFiego insists that this shift in personality has nothing to do with stage fright.  When he should be thinking about hosting the show, he's often thinking about camera angles, lighting and audio instead. He readily admits that his background in production keeps him so pre-occupied during filming that it's hard to let his true personality shine through. 

"I'm worried about so many other things, and honestly I think that takes away from the hosting aspect of it," he said. "I'll be my worst critic.  I don't think I'm that funny on the show.  I'm really not."

On occasion, however, "Up Late" viewers have gotten a taste for LoFiego's witty personality, like the time he dressed up as Borat in a mankini for the first Halloween show. 

"So I walk through the doors wearing nothing but that [points to mankini], and I thought, ‘you know what, from that moment on, nothing else matters. Why would I get nervous if I could walk through the doors wearing that?'" LoFiego asked convincingly.

As LoFiego continually elaborates on his experiences with "Up Late" and teaching, it becomes evident that his passion for working with students and production is extraordinary.  However, LoFiego didn't exactly grow up with big dreams of teaching. His experience lies in production, with a degree from Marshall in broadcast journalism and experience in a production job at WSAZ in Huntington. 

Marshall hired LoFiego in 2004 to create studio commercials and other digital media for the university.  Though he still holds this job title, he also teaches students the basics of video production in a course titled Intro to Video Production.

"My job isn't "Up Late." My job isn't being a professor.  That's just something on the side," LoFiego said. 

MAKING IT CLICK

His favorite aspect of teaching is seeing the material "click" for students.  LoFiego said many students come into the class not knowing how to work a single piece of equipment but by the end of the semester, they have received a lot of hands-on experience.

"He's taught me loads of things," said Cat Rayson, junior radio/TV major and exchange student from Bury St. Edmonds, U.K.  "Practical wise, he's taught me basically how to run a TV show, how to put together everything and how to work with people to achieve your desired outcome."

Rayson said LoFiego has also helped her on a more personal level.

"When I first got here, he was really welcoming and kind of encouraged me to get involved," Rayson said.  "Without him I guess I probably wouldn't feel as much a part of the school community as I do."

GROWING UP

LoFiego's interest in video production was sparked as a mere third grader. LoFiego's elementary school gym teacher taped LoFiego and other students in gym class throughout the year.  At the end of the year, Parsons compiled a tape of the students complete with music and special effects that absolutely blew LoFiego away.

"In the ‘80s, guess what we didn't have that much of?  We didn't have these little cameras and iPhones and things that recorded us. Not that many people even had home video cameras," LoFiego said.

From that moment forward, he knew video production was his calling.

"I think that was the moment that I thought, ‘I wanna do this stuff,' and I think that was the moment I said, ‘It's possible. You don't have to go and be in California or Hollywood,' " LoFiego said.

LoFiego was very introverted throughout middle school and early high school.  By the end of his eighth grade year, teachers at LoFiego's school named him most likely to replace David Letterman, despite his shyness.

By junior year in high school, LoFiego was actively involved in Cabell Midland's track team and newscast, which helped him to break the shyness.

"That gave me the opportunity to branch out and be that funny guy for the whole school, and then by my senior year, everyone knew me.  You know, I was voted class clown and things of this nature."

A FAMILY MAN

It seems as soon as LoFiego started really coming out of his shell, his television teacher asked him to help a classmate, Amy, put together a slideshow for their senior class. He and Amy fell in love, and as he puts it, "We've been together ever since."

They now have two children: Audrey, 4 years old, and Owen, 9 months old.

LoFiego pushes the jokes aside when his children are brought up.

"If you want me to get emotional with you, I'll get emotional with you," LoFiego said when asked about his children.