HU Student Interns at the Winter Olympics

HU Student Interns at the Winter Olympics

Mariah Crews (middle) with fellow interns at the Winter Olympics

HU senior Mariah Crews is interning with NBC Universal for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

“I’m doing so much more than just bringing coffee and making copies,” said Crews.

Crews is part of a select group of Emma Bowen scholars who are attending the Olympics to work as media interns. The Emma Bowen Foundation for Minority Interests in Media is a multi-year internship program for students pursuing careers in the media industry.

Crews, a senior broadcast journalism major from Upper Marlboro, Md., has garnered so much experience during her internship, and it’s only her second week.

“I have met a multitude of athletes and will be working closely with Team USA," said Crews, “Meryl and Charlie [of Team USA- Ice Skating] are definitely taking home the gold.”

Her internship started in Venue Operations dealing with logistics under the guidance of a variety of broadcast managers for sports like speed skating, figure skating, and hockey.

And now she is working with the online department, NBColympics.com.

“I am working on several projects, but we are not allowed to go into detail or release pictures until after the Olympics,” said Crews.

Prior to this, Crews has interned at C-SPAN for the past four summers, as well as contributed as an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Golden Key National Honors Society, the Student Leadership Program at HU, and Gamma Iota chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

She also started her own mentoring program called B.O.S.S, which stands for "Beauty, Originality, and Self-Worth Students."

“The wealth of knowledge I have gained from my professors at HU has definitely prepared me for this incredible opportunity,” said Crews.

HU Faculty Creates Video of the Middle Passage Ceremony

HU Faculty Creates Video of the Middle Passage Ceremony

Middle Passage Ceremony at Yorktown, Va.

HU faculty created the video featuring last year’s Middle Passage Ceremony at the beachfront of Yorktown, Va.

The ancestral remembrance ceremony commemorated the nearly 2 million Africans who perished in the  Middle Passage of the transatlantic human trade.

The Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project sponsors remembrance ceremonies at each of the Middle Passage ports in over fifty nation around the world.

HU faculty who contributed to the video included professors from the Howard Scripps School of Journalism and Communications – William Chris Leonard, Wayne Dawkins, Reggie Mitchell, and Earl Caldwell.

Other attendees were Dr. Robert Watson, HU professor of African American History, Cheryl Martin, HU Grants and Contracts Manager, and Nashid Maydun, HU Museum Director.

Leonard and Dawkins, both invited committee members of the event, played a big role in helping inaugurate guests from all across the nation.

“The day of the event was quite spiritual," said Leonard,"which only added to the importance and significance of the endeavor."

HU Scripps Student Wins a Prestigious Journalism Trip to Japan

HU Scripps Student Wins a Prestigious Journalism Trip to Japan 

HU junior Brandon Theo Dorsey, broadcast journalism major

The Scripps Howard Foundation announced HU junior Brandon Theo Dorsey as one of the nine top journalism students in the nation being awarded an all expense-paid journalism study trip to Japan.

The competition pays homage to the memory of journalists who led the Scripps Howard Newspapers and United Press in its beginning years.

This trip will challenge students’ assumptions about the world through an excursion in the Kansai region cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe, as well as explore the history behind Hiroshima and Tokyo.

Although Dorsey is a sports journalism major, he understands that the sports industry is becoming just as prominent internationally as nationally.

HU alum Whitney (Boyd) Richardson ‘09 of the New York Times, urged him to apply.

“At Hampton University, I’m surrounded by fellow students who are always trying to better themselves," said Dorsey, “This encourages me to do and strive for more—almost like a friendly competition.”

Dorsey, from Houston, TX, has had an impressive college career thus far.  He has interned at ESPN radio, the Washington Times, started his own website called Elite Insiders, and is preparing for a summer internship at NBC Sports. On campus, he is the online sports editor for The Hampton Script, and produces and anchors sports shows on WHOV-TV news.

Additionally, as a sophomore Dorsey was chosen among twelve of the best college sports journalists in the nation to attend the Sports Journalism Institute.  Here, he learned from top sports journalists like ESPN's Leon Carter, Sandy Rosenbush, and Stephen A. Smith.

“Really, all of this was God,” said Dorsey, “God hasn’t allowed me to forget that it is all Him.”

Despite Dorsey being accepted by Howard, Baylor, North Carolina A&T, and Florida A&M, he chose Hampton University because “Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications would provide me the best opportunity in what I wanted to do, and that’s journalism.”

“Professor [Allie-Ryan] Butler has taught me how to brand myself; my writing skills have improved under Professor [Mavis] Carr’s guidance; Professor [Wayne] Dawkins trained me in refining my writing to sound and look intelligent, but still appeal to readers; Professor [DaVida] Plummer coached me in TV work, and I can’t forget how Professor Jarvis has taught me to self-reflect and further grow as a man,” said Dorsey.

Travel begins May 8, and Dorsey admits that this is one moment in his life that he can look back at his work and think, ‘Wow, I’ve actually done some pretty good things to get here.’

-Gianina Thompson

HU Professor Interviews Nephew & Super Bowl Player Russell Wilson

 HU Professor Interviews Nephew & Super Bowl Player Russell Wilson

April Woodard and Russell Wilson look back at family pictures

HU Assistant Professor April Woodard had the opportunity to interview her nephew and NFL quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson for CBS Inside Edition.

A few days before the Super Bowl, Woodard traveled to the Westin Jersey City Newport, where the Seahawks prepare for their big match-up against the Denver Broncos.

 “It was great to interview [Russell].  Most of the time we text and email about different things going on,” said Woodard, “As his aunt, I just want to know that he’s healthy and doing well.”

Woodard, who teaches “Pop Culture in Media” and “Introduction to News Writing” for the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications, has reported for Inside Edition for thirteen years as well as Black Entertainment Television and locally at WTKR-TV and WAVY-TV.

She has interviewed Dr. Maya Angelou, former President Bill Clinton, and Muhammad Ali; as well as covered the 2008 campaign trail and inauguration of President Barack Obama.

“It is a privilege to teach at HU,” said Woodard, “I was first attracted here for the reputation of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications, which is further complimented with Dean Brett Pulley and his tremendous work in journalism at Forbes and Bloomberg.”

Click here to see Woodard's interview on Inside Edition.

The Woodard family is definitely rooting for the Seahawks

-Gianina Thompson