StoryTellers: Ten years reporting the Tec’s best stories

“Being accepted onto the StoryTellers program is like saying that my university chose me to be a communications specialist before I’d even graduated,” recalls Kevin Chaires, former StoryTeller and current audiovisual producer at CONECTA.

His words sum up what nearly 1,500 young people have experienced over ten years of the StoryTellers program: pride at being chosen not only to tell stories but also to experience and be transformed by them.

This program includes students from different degree programs and semesters at Tecnológico de Monterrey who generate content and tell the best stories about the institution through its different platforms and channels for the general public and the community.

For the woman at the helm of this program, Ana Torres, who is also the Tec’s National Publications and Content Manager, StoryTellers not only describes life at the Tec but has also left a mark on the lives of those who participate in it.

“It’s a space for self-discovery. Those who were soft-spoken and shy realize they have a voice; those who didn’t even know how to use a camera suddenly start to express themselves. This is where they feel part of the community, part of the family, in a safe space where their uniqueness is appreciated.”

How did StoryTellers come about?

The StoryTellers program was born in 2016 under the name Communication Ambassadors. Its goal was clear: to reach the spaces that professional teams couldn’t access.

“Our remit as national communications departments means we aren’t in the classrooms, in the labs, or in the community service programs,” explains Ana Torres.

“The best way to tell those stories from the heart was through the students themselves, who are always going to be at the center of events.”

Over time, they formed a community. 

Ana says this is a pattern she sees repeated year after year: “They become confident leaders. It’s been wonderful to see them flourish.”

“Those who were soft-spoken find their voice; those who had never written learn to narrate; and they all feel part of a family that listens to them and encourages them.” - Ana Torres

A commitment that caused a paradigm shift

The program has also made an impact on the institution itself. For Karina Romero, the Tec’s Manager of Institutional Channels and Media, StoryTellers has changed how people communicate at the Tec:

“It caused a paradigm shift in how we collaborate with students because we were showing our commitment to their talent. It’s amazing to see how young people from all degree programs polish their skills here and accomplish extraordinary things.”

Karina has been told things that moved her deeply.

“Many say that this is their safe place, their community. They come here to forget about their personal and academic problems. Regardless of which campus or state they’re from, they connect and end up feeling like they’re part of one big family.”

In 2025, the program became part of the academic curriculum, a milestone that formalizes its academic and professional worth. 

“I don’t believe there’s a program as solid and collaborative as this one in Mexico or in many parts of the world. We’re aiming for at least another ten years of StoryTellers.”

She also recognizes that other institutions see StoryTellers as a model to be followed.

“There are other programs that copy us a little or see us as an example, which fascinates us because we’re committed to turning even more students into excellent communicators, regardless of their degree program.

“The Tec community shines through its stories, and this program is the best proof of that.”

StoryTeller profile

According to María Guadalupe Monroy, national leader of the program, StoryTellers are creative, innovative, responsible, and like working as a team. They are also good spellers and writers, as well as possessing skills in photography, video recording, design, and social media management. 

They are trained on how to convey messages in texts or audiovisual products. In general, program members agree that they signed up because they want to keep learning and get some work experience.

New members are selected by applying different criteria that include tests to demonstrate their content generation skills. There is also an interview with the program manager on each campus.

They need to sign up to the program for a year, have a minimum average grade of 85, and comply with a minimum number of hours worked per year to access one of the rewards offered, such as redeeming points for photographic or computer equipment or an international academic trip. 

Once the year is up, they can repeat the program for another year, as long as they don’t graduate the following year. Some StoryTellers have been in the program for up to four or five years.

 

From bashful students to leaders

Over the past ten years, over 1,465 students from 25 campuses have joined the program, working 700,000 hours and covering over 40,000 events.

More importantly than the numbers is the program’s impact on people. Monroy has seen students go through the program for eight years.

“It’s incredible to see kids who’d get stage fright when they joined going on to give talks to audiences of 300 people. When you give them confidence, everything flourishes.”

Boot camps, national meetups for intensive training, are an essential part of this transformation.

“That’s the part they look forward to the most. There, they explore their creativity and discover that they’re part of something bigger.”

Its popularity also reflects how the program has grown. 

“At the start, we had to rely on word of mouth to invite them; now, we get an average of ten applications for every place. It’s become an aspirational thing.”

A campus-level perspective

Those who guide StoryTellers on a daily basis have witnessed the change students undergo.

In Cuernavaca, there’s Zazil Loewe, who’s been connected to the program since its inception in 2016. A local leader, she describes the process as training students how to be self-confident.

“At the start, they’re nervous about asking for a photo or going up to someone to interview them; at the end, they’ve become professional content creators. They go on a journey outside of their comfort zone.”

Every year, she’s seen students, who are initially hesitant in front of the camera or when recording their voice, end up handing in communication products ready for publication.

In Monterrey, Niza Salas, StoryTellers leader on Monterrey campus, knows the program inside-out: she was first a StoryTeller and is now team coordinator.

For her, the most memorable thing is personal and professional networking. 

“Perfect strangers become your family. What starts out as a project blossoms into lifelong friendships.”

The program’s boot camps, which bring together over 150 students from all the campuses, are one of the spaces where this sense of belonging is reinforced.

Stories that leave their mark

Some of these students say they have found their calling through StoryTellers. Each year group has experienced moments at workshops and boot camps that they remember to this day.

A case in point is Alejandro Carrillo, who joined the program with more doubts than certainties about his chosen profession.

What started out as an experiment ended up defining his career: “StoryTellers was a safe space for me, where I discovered that telling stories was my life’s greatest passion.”

Although he currently directs animation projects, he has also published books and released short films. He explains that the program taught him how to tell stories, something that is now vital to his work.

Something similar happened to Alejandro Bertín Ruiz. “It’s changed my life, given me incredible experiences, and enabled me to meet people I want to keep around me for the rest of my life.”

Another story is that of Kevin Chaires, who is now an audiovisual producer at CONECTA, the Tec’s national news site.

For him, the program was much more than an extracurricular activity: “It’s an enabling experience that prepares you for the workplace: you go to meetings, send deliverables, and what you do gets published.”

The program also led him to discover fields of knowledge he hadn’t dreamed of exploring. 

“It pushes you to learn about other areas, from biotechnology to art, politics, and culture. It opens your eyes to everything that goes on at the Tec.”

Reigniting the spark

The program has also left its mark on those professionals who mentor the students. 

Lorena Morales, national co-editor of CONECTA, recalls a decisive moment while covering an event in Querétaro.

“I realized that we need their energy and vigor. They remind us why chose to work in communication, and we also learn from them.”

Ten years after its inception, all the interviewees agree on one thing: StoryTellers has not only reported on life at the Tec; it has transformed the lives of those who’ve been part of it.

“The students who sign up every year give us a breath of fresh air,” says Ana Torres. “Every day, they remind me that communicating is, above all, an act of creation.”

Watch this documentary, which marks ten years of the StoryTellers program (Spanish):

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