Meet Julio Poletti

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julio Poletti.

Julio Poletti is a three-time Emmy award-winning, bilingual journalist who has recently joined the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the first bilingual writer for the museum’s marketing team. He focuses on internal and external communications, museum exhibition copywriting, scientific reporting and English-Spanish translations. He is passionate about many things in life, including nature, people, storytelling and freedom to explore and experiment.

Hi Julio, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Thanks for the opportunity!

As I look back at my childhood, I now realize I was passionate about communications and storytelling all along, without even realizing it. Grammar is one giant puzzle I loved to put together. My earliest memory of working as a journalist was in elementary school, editing my papers, my friends’ homeworks, and even passed-down love letters in the classroom. I know, crazy.

Even my personal interests were molding me for my future in journalism. I enjoyed making short movies and music videos with my friends and cousins. I was passionate about character development and making creative scene transitions. I also remember loving to host various holiday events in school. One of my favorite things to do with my family was traveling to new places, exploring the outdoors and meeting new people. As a child, I dreamt of having an adventurous life and traveling the world. During these trips, I would often wonder (and still do to this day) “What would it be like to live there…. or to do that job, what kind of traditions do they have, what do they eat?” Foreign movies also intrigued me.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!

As a kid, I did well in Spanish language arts classes and life seemed great while living in Venezuela. But then, my family decided to move to the US when I was 10 years old. This is when things got complicated. I had to focus on learning a new language along with its complicated grammar. Everything I had learned was put on pause while I learned an entire new language. I abruptly went from an outgoing kid in Venezuela to the quiet foreign kid in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I had to say goodbye to the “ñ” for a while and focus on learning the English “ABC”.

Years later, we moved to Orlando, Florida. By that time, my English had improved a lot. My professors suggested I start taking advanced English classes, as the regular language arts weren’t as challenging for this foreigner. Don’t ask me how! I knew many people took these advanced English classes, so I never thought it was something I was good at. I just thought it was the thing to do. As for my electives, I thought I would be a slick high schooler and take Spanish in order to get easy As. But, since I was a native Spanish speaker, they didn’t place me in the beginner Spanish classes I had hoped for. So, I ended up in Advanced Spanish language arts classes for native speakers. Meh!
Now as an adult, I realize they ended up being beneficial for me, as it helped me perfect my Spanish and English grammar at the same time.

AN OBLIVIOUS BEGINNING

During my senior year of high school, I was struggling to find my calling. I knew I was creative, curious, and artistic, but I didn’t know how to translate that into a career. So, what did I do? I pulled the Yellow Book and started scheduling meetings with different professionals in different fields. I interviewed different working professionals and took many notes, hoping it would lead me to finding my own path. I remember comparing data about their income, job opportunities, work-life-balance and other factors. I was very intrigued listening to their personal stories. Little did I know, I was doing my earliest journalistic work— interviewing, listening, taking notes, collecting data. But journalists were never on my “to call” list.

After two years of trying many different entry-level classes at Valencia Community College in Orlando with no real guidance or progress, my mom called from Texas and said, “That’s it. You’re moving to Huntsville and majoring in Mass Communications.” I had no plan A, B or C. So, I said, “Yes ma’am” and to Sam Houston State University, I went.

MOMS KNOW BEST

During my first week at SHSU, I saw a sign on a door that said: “Newsroom Auditions”. So, I signed up and went to my first audition a few days later. As I was waiting my turn, I met a great friend and colleague, Leigha Hughes, who kept me relaxed as I was over-stressed. She told me to just be confident and read. That’s all I needed to hear. I remember sitting at the news desk and feeling strangely comfortable reading the Spanish prompter. Days later, I saw my name on the results sheet, where I was chosen as the University’s Spanish news anchor, a role I earned every semester until I graduated two years later. At the same time, I prepared English news reports for other Mass Communications classes. I was super excited to be able to report and anchor in both languages, and I spent much of my afternoons involved in the newsroom. By the end of my first semester, I was fortunate to win “Best Male Anchor” and “Best Produced Newscast” for my contributions to the Spanish newscast. This gave me a lot of comfort, knowing that I had finally found something I enjoyed and could potentially monetize. Mom knew all along.

During my last year at SHSU, I was chosen as the Miss Huntsville pageant host, and I also hosted a local radio show focusing on international music and local college news. I guess hosting all those elementary school holiday events came in handy.  In 2012, I ended up receiving a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis in Broadcast Journalism and a Minor in Spanish.

3, 2, 1, CUE! —LAUNCHING INTO MY CAREER

That senior year, I did my internship with Univision Houston, which later became my first real job after college as an assistant producer. After that job, I held different roles in journalism, such as Content Storyteller for the Telemundo Network, red-carpet host and columnist for Venue Magazine in Miami, multimedia reporter at Telemundo Denver which earned me three Colorado Broadcasting Awards, digital reporter at The Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach, Florida, and most recently, news anchor and reporter at Univision Bay Area, California, where I earned three Emmy awards for covering the California wildfires. In 2022, I landed my current job as a Bilingual Communications and Marketing Specialist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, a place that allows me to use all of my skills to serve the Denver community and abroad.

I’m currently stoked to work at an institution that cherishes and honors my skills as a bilingual storyteller. I am extremely proud to be associated with an organization that fuels people’s imagination, curiosity, and desire to learn about science, nature, history, cultures, the future and beyond.

FULL CIRCLE

My career in journalism has fulfilled all my dreams –From using grammar in both languages to shooting and editing videos, meeting people and telling their stories, and traveling and exploring various places. I believe journalism has made me a better, more compassionate and more tolerant person. Journalism is a key to opening doors to so many incredible people and diverse stories. As a journalist, I feel a responsibility to bring these untold stories to life. I can’t wait to tell more stories about the work of our Denver Museum of Nature & Science staff, scientists, historians, educators, guests and future generations.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think that every story has its struggles. I don’t like to focus too much on the hardships because I believe everything was placed on my path to better myself, just like a rough draft waiting to be edited. Every mistake, obstacle or deviation is an opportunity to make it right or continue learning from past mistakes or experiences.

Though learning a new language and culture as a kid seemed like the biggest challenge of my life, it’s now my biggest attribute. Having endured sadness from leaving family and friends behind has made me appreciate everyone in my present life a lot more.

Like a rough draft, it’s up to me to pick up the pencil and start tackling all those mistakes, sentence by sentence, until I make it right.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I currently work at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science as a bilingual communications and marketing specialist. I specialize in marketing communications, which means writing, editing, proofreading, and summarizing written communications, whether that means exhibition content, signage, internal e-mails, press releases, social media posts, blogs or articles featuring discoveries or success stories by our scientists, historians and other professionals. I enjoy being able to summarize very dense scientific findings and present it to the masses in more digestible, conversational ways.  I believe that being able to deliver information to all audiences, no matter their age or education level, is not only beneficial to them but to the entire community as a whole. I love being able to close the gap between English and Spanish audiences by being able to translate our museum content and hopefully continue inspiring our communities to keep learning and keep being curious.

Outside of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, I also enjoy telling stories through videos, news reports, and photography. I like to edit or create messages by acknowledging grammar, efficiency, clarity, context, language sensitivity and diverse audiences. Language, culture and technicalities are often changing, so it’s up to me to stay up to date. Need help with your writing, storytelling or video production? Ask me.

How do you define success?
Success has a different meaning for every person and continues to change as your life and your priorities change. I would say when I was younger, my priority was to keep challenging myself and pushing myself forward. For a while, I was obsessed with making it in journalism and earning achievements. That came with a price. I was focused 99% of the time on working and moving up the corporate ladder and not focusing enough on my family and friends. Today, success means having a balanced life. I’m focusing more on spending as much time with my family and friends as I do exploring and traveling, as well as working and fulfilling my professional goals. Balance is a success. I will continue to work towards it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.juliopoletti.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliopoletti/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliocpoletti
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliopoletti
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/juliopoletti 

Image Credits
Rick Wicker/ DMNS