May 22, 2023
Atlanta – The Atlanta University Center Consortium joins Oscar-winning director Spike Lee and The Gersh Agency in announcing the inaugural class for the Spike Fellows at Gersh Program. The program is based on the principle that access plus exposure creates opportunities. The five selected fellows include: Shayna Cartledge and Halle Jones (Clark Atlanta University) Quentin Anderson and Jalen Ellis (Morehouse College), and Tai Livingston (Spelman College). The program, designed to nurture creative undergraduates with interest in the entertainment industry from the Atlanta University Center Consortium, will begin on June 12, 2023.
Fellows were selected based on a list of criteria including, grade point average, leadership, school involvement, creative work and professional recommendations. Three members of the class will be based in Los Angeles, while the other two will be based in New York.
Students will participate in the eight-week immersive paid learning experience that consists of an agency-wide departmental rotation along with senior level industry mentoring, curated off-site learning moments and volunteer service projects. At the intensive’s conclusion, fellows will be awarded $25,000 each in academic debt relief as well as full-time employment beginning Sept. 5, 2024.
“I know firsthand the education one receives at a Historically Black College and University,” Lee previously said in a statement when the program was first launched by the AUCC in February.
“This fellowship will provide invaluable experience and mentorship for our students desiring impact in the entertainment industry, both in front and behind the camera, said Dr. Michael Hodge, Executive Director of the AUCC. “We are pleased and grateful to AUCC alum, Spike Lee and the Gersh Agency for providing these outstanding opportunities for aspiring entertainment leaders.”
About the AUCC
The Atlanta University Center Consortium, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of Georgia, formed in 1929 to operate on behalf of its member institutions–Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman College—is the world’s oldest and largest association of historically Black colleges and universities. The Consortium is a vibrant intellectual community with a long tradition of scholarship, service, and community engagement.
