By Alisha Dixon
Thursday, Chevrolet and the National Newspaper Publishers Association made a stop in Detroit to kick off the 2017 Discover the Unexpected fellowship program with a two-day interactive immersion experience for eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities journalism students.
“Last year we were honored to launch the DTU fellowship program at Howard University and meet a group of very talented journalism students,” said U.S. Vice President of Chevrolet Marketing Paul Edwards. “Their enthusiasm, insight and determination made the selection process extremely difficult. We’re excited to send more trailblazers on the road to highlight the positive, inspire hope and document the legacy of African American voices for generations to come.”
With the program, Chevrolet and the NNPA want to create a platform for students to add to and to change the narrative of how news about the African American community is reported.
“The NNPA is looking forward to welcoming the next group of fellows to the program,” said NNPA President and CEO Dr. Ben Chavis Jr. “Our 2016 fellows showed that despite the negative perceptions seen in the media, there are also beautiful and powerful stories in African American neighborhoods across the country. Our 2017 Fellows will continue sharing stories of community advocates, making impactful and lasting changes on a local and global level.”
This year, the DTU fellowship program expanded to welcome students from Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College and Morehouse College. The eight students were chosen based on their major (must be communications, mass media or visual arts), GPA, technology/social media proficiency, work samples and an interview by a panel of judges from the NNPA and HBCU officials. DTU Fellows represent the next generation of communications, mass media, and visual arts professionals that will reshape the art of storytelling. The 2017 DTU Fellows include Taylor Burris of Spelman College, Darrell Williams of Morehouse College, Jordan Fisher of Clark Atlanta University, Tiana Hunt of Clark Atlanta University, Kelsey Jones of Spelman College, Ayron Lewallen of Morehouse College, Noni Marshall of Howard University and Alexa Imani Spencer of Howard University.
While in Detroit, the Fellows participated in an interactive immersion experience that included a scavenger hunt throughout the city of Detroit to learn and write stories about the city’s landmarks that included D’illa’s Delights, Detroit VS Everybody, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art. The experience was designed to prepare the students for what they will experience this summer during the DTU program and subsequent journalism and media internships.
For eight weeks over the summer, the Fellows will cover multimedia and print stories and work alongside professional editors and reporters from NNPA newspapers in Atlanta (Atlanta Voice), New Orleans (Louisiana Weekly), Raleigh (The Carolinian) and Washington D.C. (Washington Informer).
Jordan Fisher and Alexa Imani Spencer
Each fellow was awarded a $10,000 scholarship and provided with a stipend to cover any traveling expenses related to covering stories throughout the summer. Chevrolet has also provided access to the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox for use during reporting assignments.
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