Trevor Martin, who will graduate from the University of Colorado at Boulder Dec. 21 in the winter commencement ceremony, will kick off the New Year working for MTV covering the 2008 election in Colorado.

Martin, 23, who is graduating with bachelor's degrees in marketing from the Leeds School of Business and media studies from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, will work as a citizen journalist for the popular television station.

"MTV is looking to cover the election from a new media and youth perspective," Martin said. "I'll be doing a whole litany of things, including broadcasting, blogging, vlogging, which is video blogging, and covering the Democratic National Convention. I like to say I'll be a one-man band."

Environmental issues, including natural gas drilling and carbon taxation, the war in Iraq, youth voting and voter registration are issues Martin plans to cover leading up the election.

"Voter registration is a huge barrier when it comes to youth voting," Martin said. "Young people want to vote, but they don't necessarily know the steps involved in registering. We're the YouTube and Facebook generation, we're used to clicking a mouse instead of going to the county clerk and registering to vote."

Online mediums, such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace have changed the way election campaigns are being run and covered, and Martin is excited about the challenge awaiting him.

"I think this is going to be a great experience in terms of being so close to so many important personalities during the election," Martin said. "This election is being talked about as being the turning point for the next decade or two. Interviewing and talking with local leaders, state leaders and national leaders is going to be a great experience."