Spike Lee and The Gersh Agency Announce Inaugural Spike Fellows – The Hollywood Reporter

Oscar-winning director Spike Lee and The Gersh Agency have announced the inaugural class for the Spike Fellows at Gersh Program.

The five selected fellows include Quentin Anderson (Morehouse College), Tai Livingston (Spelman College), Jalen Ellis (Morehouse College), Shayna Cartledge (Clark Atlanta University) and Halle Jones (Clark Atlanta University). The program, designed to nurture creative undergraduates with interest in the entertainment industry from the Atlanta University Center Consortium — the trio of HBCU’s Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University, 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.

All 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. “I am who I am because of my grandmother [Zimmie Jackson] and my mother [Jacquelyn Shelton Lee] who both graduated from Spelman College. I am who I am because of my grandfather [Richard Jackson Shelton] and my father [William Lee] who both graduated from Morehouse. It’s on the campuses of Spelman and Morehouse where they met, fell in love and got married. As my elders often told me, ‘Deeds not words’.”

Announced in January, the fellowship will be led by Gersh’s head of culture, Jayson Council.

As part of the program’s belief “that access plus exposure will create opportunities,” the talent and literary agency will support on-campus programming through the school year. “When creating transformative legacy oriented opportunities like the Spike Fellows, it’s critical to focus on non-transactional partnerships deeply rooted in respect and sustainable impact” said Council.

Lee has played an active role in the program, calling inaugural fellows personally to inform them of their acceptance into the program. “At Morehouse, Spelman and Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) is where my path to being a filmmaker started. I’m thrilled that The Gersh Agency and I have hooked up to get five serious graduates from these mentioned schools into the film business. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF,” Lee said in a statement.

Oscar-winning director Spike Lee and The Gersh Agency have announced the inaugural class for the Spike Fellows at Gersh Program.

The five selected fellows include Quentin Anderson (Morehouse College), Tai Livingston (Spelman College), Jalen Ellis (Morehouse College), Shayna Cartledge (Clark Atlanta University) and Halle Jones (Clark Atlanta University). The program, designed to nurture creative undergraduates with interest in the entertainment industry from the Atlanta University Center Consortium — the trio of HBCU’s Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University, 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.

All 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. “I am who I am because of my grandmother [Zimmie Jackson] and my mother [Jacquelyn Shelton Lee] who both graduated from Spelman College. I am who I am because of my grandfather [Richard Jackson Shelton] and my father [William Lee] who both graduated from Morehouse. It’s on the campuses of Spelman and Morehouse where they met, fell in love and got married. As my elders often told me, ‘Deeds not words’.”

Announced in January, the fellowship will be led by Gersh’s head of culture, Jayson Council.

As part of the program’s belief “that access plus exposure will create opportunities,” the talent and literary agency will support on-campus programming through the school year. “When creating transformative legacy oriented opportunities like the Spike Fellows, it’s critical to focus on non-transactional partnerships deeply rooted in respect and sustainable impact” said Council.

Lee has played an active role in the program, calling inaugural fellows personally to inform them of their acceptance into the program. “At Morehouse, Spelman and Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) is where my path to being a filmmaker started. I’m thrilled that The Gersh Agency and I have hooked up to get five serious graduates from these mentioned schools into the film business. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF,” Lee said in a statement.