Nine golden Emmy awards line the black shelves in the office of Jesse Vaughan, executive producer for NAU Television Services.

His picture window looks into the TV studio, where colored lights twinkle on control panels.

Hidden away at the back of the School of Communications, Vaughan's office has become a magnet for students wanting to learn what the veteran TV director and producer has to teach.

Vaughan, who has worked at major companies such as HBO, Warner Brothers, Atlantic Records, Sony Records, NBC, FOX and ABC News, came to NAU from Los Angeles one year ago.

"I came here because I wanted to give back to young people all the knowledge I acquired in more than 30 years as a filmmaker and television director," Vaughan said. "I wanted to pass on the knowledge. On a personal level, it gives great meaning to my life."

FIRST TIME FOR EMMYS

Two seniors in electronic media and film (EMF), Vernon Richardson and Cedric Owens, popped into Vaughan's office to talk about their experiences working on a documentary, "Spoken Word." The film combines poetry, music and film clips on contemporary issues, and it has been nominated for four Emmy awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Rocky Mountain/Southwest chapter).

This is the first time the department has achieved this type of accolade, Vaughan noted, and the first time, at least in Southwest history, that students have been nominated at the professional level.

"Jesse came in with the mentality to teach, and we came in with the mentality to learn, so it just kind of worked out," Owens said.

Richardson said they were particularly eager to soak up Vaughan's knowledge.

"We wanted Jesse to help us to take our project to another level," he said.

The documentary first aired April 24. It is a collaborative project among Vaughan, the two students, Nicole Walker, creative writing coordinator, and Erik Sather, videographer.

"They came to my office every day for a month," Vaughan said. "They wouldn't leave until we came up with the idea for 'Spoken Word.' They really pushed me in a positive way. My feeling is, passion goes a long way in this business."

The competition is stiff, with four states involved, and Emmy winners will be announced Oct. 24 at a ceremony in Phoenix.

"I'm just really enthusiastic about the opportunities he's bringing to our department — definitely raising it to the next level," said Theresa Bierer, who works with Vaughan as a producer and reporter for NAU-TV.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

Vaughan, 50, who is from Richmond, Va., has been directing films since he was 19.

He has had some tragedies in his life, including the murder of his father when Vaughan was only 14.

And then in 2000, another murder of a loved one happened.

"I had a life-changing experience," he explained. "My fiancee was murdered in Los Angeles, in Beverly Hills, when I was on the set doing 'Juwanna Mann' for Warner Brothers studio. It gave me a new perspective on what I wanted to do with the rest of my life."

Vaughan said that's when he decided to pass on his knowledge.

"I decided I would begin to mentor young people, to help them become the architects of their own destiny," he said.

Today, he works with students to cover about 35 live Lumberjack sporting events for FOX Sports Arizona.

One of Vaughan's Emmys was for covering the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, for NBC Sports. He said one of his goals is to have NAU TV students represented in London for the 2012 Olympics in London.

"The Emmy nominations are just the beginning for us," Vaughan said. "Our goal is to not only make NAU Television Services the best university production company in the state, but also one of the most respected in the entire nation."

Betsey Bruner can be reached at bbruner@azdailysun.com or 556-2255.