As the Directing/Producing Fellow, Rogers enrolled in Filmmaking Intensive which introduces students to the basic technical and aesthetic concepts underlying motion picture production. In this course, students collaborate with their fellow filmmakers in various core roles (director, producer, and cinematographer) on three digital short films. Reflecting on her experience, Rogers said, "I'm here to learn. To expand my resources with all the things that I don't have back at Morgan State and in Baltimore… and the program being here at USC, it’s an amplifier of our talents and our voice.”

Mullings took Advanced Screenwriting: Writing the First Draft Feature Screenplay, a class where students work with their instructors and peers in a “writers’ room” setting to complete the first draft of a three-act, full-length feature screenplay in under six weeks. Mullings captured the essence of the program's significance, stating, “Programs like this are so important because speaking as an HBCU student and as a Black person, we don't get these opportunities often… and this is giving us that pathway to make sure that we are seen, that we are heard. And that's what makes HBCU Next so incredibly special, it allows us to be seen!”

Both fellows received full tuition, room and board, and round-trip airfare transportation to and from the USC School of Cinematic Arts campus in Los Angeles.

HBCU Next is currently a pilot program that hopes to expand next year. To be considered, applicants submitted a written statement along with a sample of work and a short video introduction. The goal is to afford HBCU students, who might be considering graduate programs in the cinematic arts, an opportunity to get practical exposure to the academic and practical practices of the industry.

For more information, please visit cinema.usc.edu/hbcunext or e-mail hbcunext@cinema.usc.edu.