Amazon Studios and Howard University Launch Howard Entertainment Program for Third Consecutive Year
October 01 2021 - 9:15AM
Business Wire
Intensive program developed to create
opportunities in the entertainment industry for emerging executives
from Howard University
Amazon Studios and Howard University announced today that they
will continue the Howard Entertainment program, an initiative
designed to diversify the entertainment industry by creating a
pipeline for Black and other underrepresented students, now in its
third year. The Howard Entertainment program was announced in 2019
to help create opportunities for historically excluded students to
train and study alongside entertainment executives. Applications
open on October 1, 2021, and the program will begin on January 10,
2022.
Howard Entertainment is an immersive, two semester program that
offers Howard University students the opportunity to take academic
courses related to the business of entertainment during the spring
semester and participate in an internship in the entertainment
industry during the summer semester. The coursework is applied
toward the students’ graduation requirements and the internship
provides hands-on experience and an opportunity to make networking
connections. Both semesters include immersive experiences to
understand the real work of entertainment industry executives.
Student disciplines include Film & TV, PR, Business
(marketing), Law, Fine Arts, along with the new additions of
Theatre Arts Admin, Theatre Tech and Music Business.
In 2021, Howard Entertainment Program launched the Howard
faculty externship program with the goal to provide hands-on
experience that the professors can then take back to their
classrooms. Faculty were placed with Amazon Studios teams including
casting, development, PR, strategy, and unscripted to further
broaden and expand their expertise in their respective
disciplines.
“Over the past two years, we have made great strides with our
initiatives to create new diverse pipeline programs in the
entertainment industry,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon
Studios. “As we enter our third year, we are more committed than
ever to helping new voices join the conversation and continuing to
mentor our Howard Entertainment students. We know these programs
will benefit our industry as a whole and create future
leaders.”
Latasha Gillespie, Amazon Studios Global Head of Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion said, “As an industry, we have a
responsibility to create opportunities and foster new voices across
all disciplines. Together with Howard University, we are able to
put action behind our words and help the next generation of
aspiring industry leaders forge a pathway to the future. It’s both
rewarding and exciting to empower the next generation of leaders as
they begin their careers in entertainment."
Last year, the program featured guest lecturers including
showrunner Anthony Sparks, actress and writer Ashleigh Hairston,
actress Michael Hyatt, producer Logan Coles, actress Wendy Raquel
Robinson, writer Christina Hamm and writer James Tyler. Additional
highlights from cohort 2 included externship placements with Amazon
partners such as Viola Davis’ JuVee, Tracy Oliver’s Tracy Yvonne
Productions (TYP), Rachel Brosnahan’s Scrap Paper Pictures, and
Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions.
Responses from the 2021 cohort were overwhelmingly positive,
with students praising the valuable experience they gained across
all fields of entertainment. “Howard Entertainment has laid the
foundation for my career in entertainment and has allowed me to
positively envision myself and my ideas within an industry I
previously thought had no space for me,” said 2021 Howard
Entertainment program fellow Kai Hartman.
Past participants of the Howard Entertainment cohorts have gone
on to secure jobs at such companies as Gravillis, UTA and Warner
Bros.
To qualify, students must be enrolled as a Howard University
student, as an upperclassman or graduate student. Prospective
participants must complete an application and interview to be
considered for the program. Students will be taught by Howard
faculty who will be supported by Amazon Studios employees and other
industry professionals invited by Amazon.
Students who wish to apply for admission to Howard Entertainment
can contact HowardEntertainment@howard.edu. For more
information visit on the program, please visit https://www2.howard.edu/entertainment-fellowship
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