HBCU students plan their career paths in America’s Music City
27 June 2024
TO UPDATE
HBCU students plan their career paths in America’s Music City
Launched in partnership with Apple as part of its racial equity and justice initiative, the one-year PROPEL Center Arts & Entertainment Industry Accelerator aims to increase diversity across the industry.
Empathy and storytelling. Motivational and strategic leadership. These are just some of the qualities participants in this year’s PROPEL Center Arts & Entertainment Industry Accelerator identified in their “What’s Your Superpower?” course, which is designed to help students discover and embrace their true selves throughout their careers.
“I think the empathy comes from being a firstborn. I always looked out for my younger siblings and cousins and wanted to make sure they were OK,” says Liza Montgomery, who will graduate from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2024 with a degree in mass communications. Montgomery was one of more than 100 students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) selected for PROPEL’s creative arts grant program.
Discovering their superpowers is just one way students are preparing for their careers after graduation. Since February, students have completed micro-certificate courses through the PROPEL Learn app, participated in virtual career panels with professionals at Apple, and attended resume-writing workshops to build their portfolios and prepare for their career paths.
This summer, 50 participants – including Montgomery – were selected from 19 HBCUs to participate in an intensive 10-day experience on the campuses of Tennessee State University in Nashville and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta. There, they were mentored by HBCU faculty and industry experts in creative and leadership roles and worked side-by-side with experts at Apple Music’s Nashville office.
The accelerator was launched alongside the PROPEL Center as part of Apple’s $25 million investment in its racial equity and justice initiative to break down systemic barriers to equal opportunity and combat injustices faced by communities of color. The curricula are designed to open new pathways for HBCU students into careers in industries that are notoriously competitive.
“Subject matter experts are the most important part of this journey,” says Dr. Lisa Herring, president of the PROPEL Center. “There’s nothing more important than when a student can collaborate with someone on their journey to becoming an expert. Apple’s belief that we can not only be partners, but we can sit at the table, walk away from the table and then be on site and then stand side by side with our students and faculty – that’s commitment to the details.”
The PROPEL Center is the first global innovation and learning center of its kind for HBCUs. To support the next generation of diverse leaders, PROPEL offers educational programs and career preparation in a variety of disciplines, including AI, agricultural technologies, social justice, entertainment, app development, augmented reality, design, and creative arts. Experts from Apple help develop the curricula and provide ongoing mentoring and internship opportunities.
“When we launched our racial equity and justice initiative four years ago, we had a clear mission to advance equality and create greater opportunities for disadvantaged communities,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives. “These are persistent and systemic challenges, and we are committed to working with partners like the PROPEL Center to close the gaps that exist and create meaningful change. Our collaboration with PROPEL aims to equip talented students with the technology, resources and expertise they need to become industry leaders, whether they aspire to roles in arts and entertainment, technology or beyond.”
In Nashville, students visited the National Museum of African American Music for a fireside chat with Ebro Darden, Apple Music’s worldwide editorial director for hip hop and R&B. They met with experts in their field at Apple Music’s Nashville office and Universal Music Group’s East Iris Studios, and participated in an experience at the Apple Downtown Nashville store.
Accelerator participants also collaborated on projects that addressed this year’s theme, “Propelling Preservation.” Through their work, the 10-person teams showcased how Black creatives have contributed to social movements—and how they can usher in a new era that preserves HBCU culture for future generations.
“Propelling Preservation is about documenting the people who have not had a voice,” says Montgomery. “With my art, I try to accurately represent the voices and experiences that have been ignored for a long time. For me, it’s about making sure I’m documenting the stories of people of color and what they look like in their most authentic and alive state.”
“When people think of the Black social justice movement, they often have negative thoughts,” adds Emmanuel Strickland, a Tennessee State University student and aspiring R&B singer who is one of Montgomery’s teammates. “We’re trying to turn it into something positive. Our project is about the love of HBCUs and different things that we experience as college students on a daily basis – how we stand together as one. No matter which HBCU you go to, you’ll be able to relate to that.”
As part of the project, each team was assigned a genre and tasked with recording a music single, putting together a marketing plan, shooting a visual campaign using the iPhone and presenting their concept to a panel of industry experts.
In her role, Montgomery designed the marketing plan and cover art for her group’s song. While using Apple Pencil and the Procreate app on her iPad Pro, she was grateful for the speed and versatility of the app’s tools.
“The way Procreate and my iPad with Apple Pencil can mimic a traditionally drawn piece of art is amazing because it’s not just a flat piece,” she explains. “It has the ability to show dimension, texture, shiny objects, and even animation. With Procreate, the possibilities for digital artwork are really almost endless.”
Growing up, Strickland, who performs under the name “Mille Manny,” was constantly surrounded by music. His home was filled with the sound of his mother and sisters belting out songs by female superstars like Mariah Carey, Selena and even Beyoncé. “When you’re from Memphis, you’re born with that soul inside you,” he says.
As his career takes off, Strickland is always thinking about his next song. When inspiration strikes, he records lyrics and melodies in voice memos on his iPhone 13 Pro Max. And at home, his MacBook and Neumann microphone serve as a mini studio while he produces tracks in Pro Tools.
During the accelerator program, Strickland, Montgomery and their teammates worked with artist, producer, musician and songwriter Fresh Ayr – who provided the beat for their track – and the audio engineering team at UMG East Iris Studios to produce their song in Logic Pro. This level of access and visibility for the students is just one of the benefits of the program.
“The biggest aha moment for me was probably when I realized that it’s not what you see on the surface that matters, but what’s underneath,” says Strickland. “The accelerator is eye-opening, it shows how to do a tour or what happens behind the scenes. We realize that it’s more than just a few people making things happen.”
“The PROPEL program does a really great job of providing HBCU students with a platform to truly showcase who we are. We get the opportunity to express ourselves artistically, build valuable relationships, and have authentic conversations with industry professionals who are in positions we aspire to throughout our careers,” adds Montgomery.
During the accelerator program, the aspiring creatives, musicians, and even accountants and lawyers were out and about in Nashville, and this access to industry experts was invaluable. Students participated in candid conversations about how the industry works, gained deeper insight into unexpected areas with the most opportunities for new talent, and learned from the personal experiences of artists like Kirk Franklin, a world-renowned gospel musician who had to navigate the historically inaccessible industry alone.
“Many of the students come from different schools and different backgrounds,” says Sylvester Polk, a music technology mentor at the accelerator who teaches music technology at Bethune-Cookman University, an HBCU in Daytona Beach, Florida. “Some of them have had a lot of experience, and some of them have no idea. There are so many fields and so many skills required in different areas that it can be open to a lot of people. The accelerator has been great at giving students a holistic understanding of what the industry is and how it works, and PROPEL has been able to provide an extension of the instruction.”
“It allows us to be in the room. It allows us to be heard. It allows us to actually talk to the people who work in the industry we want to work in,” says Strickland. “Internships will come out of this program. Apprenticeships will come out of it. Real connections will come out that people can build, nurture and potentially make a real difference.”
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