WASHINGTON – The Cathy Hughes School of Communications (CHSOC) at Howard University has a history of developing some of the best professionals in-front-of and behind the camera. They work in newsrooms and in the field producing award-winning content all around the world. Many of the 2019 CHSOC graduates have their hearts set on becoming the next set of great leaders in the communications field and many have state that they want to be the force behind increasing diversity in roles where minority inclusion is still scarce.

“Commencement is exciting because it is both an ending and beginning. Our students can be proud of the completion of their degrees as well as the excitement of beginning new opportunities. The future is in front of these young people to make a difference in the profession and their communities,” says Gracie Lawson-Borders, Ph.D., dean of the Cathy Hughes School of Communications.

Graduate Maya King earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism with honors. Her matriculation at Howard University was nothing short of involved. She was a US-UK Undergrad Fulbright Program participant, a White House Correspondents’ Association Scholar and a campus editor for The Hilltop. She traveled to Ghana for Alternative Spring Break during her junior year and maintained an Annenberg Honors Fellowship status all four years. King was one of the few student-journalists on the ground during the midterm-election cycle with the support of a fact-checking grant from the Poynter Institute in Fall 2018. King will be interning at the POLITICO news desk this summer.

“I have always wanted to be a national politics reporter,” says King. “POLITICO fits really well with my career goals. I believe this will only propel me forward in my field reporting skills and career growth. My goal is to be reporting on the 2020 Election cycle next year.”

Aaron Hall earned a Bachelor of Arts in media, journalism, and film with a concentration in audio production. He will be working for WBGR, an internet radio station in Maryland. Prior to Howard, he earned an associate degree in music technology from Prince Georges Community College.

His mother, Reverend Paula Hall, also a 2019 graduate of the School of Divinity, gave her youngest son praises. “What are the chances that as a parent you get to graduate with one of your children?  Aaron is my youngest!  This is so special and so wonderful.  I’ve watched Aaron blossom as a man of color since arriving here at Howard.”

Additionally, several CHSOC graduates are transitioning into exciting next chapters. Merdie Nzanga, who is one of 79 undergraduate and graduate students selected as a recipient of the Dow Jones News Fund. Nzanga will attend the DJNF Business Reporting Program at New York University. Bria Patterson, will participate in the Hearst Television Producing Fellowship. She will be working with WYFF news station in Greenville, South Carolina. Evan Brooks, a student-athlete and journalist that worked on the ground in Maryland during the mid-term elections cycle in 2018 with the Poynter Institute fact-checking grant, will continue his work as a production assistant at WBAL TV in Baltimore before beginning graduate school at Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. For Fatou Sow, she will travel abroad with the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies to focus on international affairs in Italy.

CHSOC Ph.D. graduates from the Department of Communications, Culture and Media Studies have secured impressive positions in academia and public service. Ashla Hill Roseboro, Ph.D., will work at Alabama State University in the Department of Communications, Brittany-Rae Gregory, Ph.D., will serve on the communications staff for a U.S. Congressman, and Morgan Smalls, Ph.D., will work in a post-doctorate position at James Madison University.

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(Featured image: Howard University CHSOC 2019 Graduates Maya King, Aaron Hall, Fatou Sow, and Evan Brooks)

About Howard University Graduate School

Howard University offered its first master’s degree in 1867—the same year it was established. In 1934, the Graduate School was formally established and reorganized to its current structure with divisions in the arts and humanities, biological and life sciences, engineering and physical sciences, and social sciences. The school awarded its first doctorate degree in 1958 in the field of chemistry. The school offers 24 master’s, 31 Ph.D. and 7 M.D./Ph.D. Programs. The Graduate School has consistently issued on average over 100 doctoral degrees per year for the last three years.  For more information, visit, www.gs.howard.edu 

About the Cathy Hughes School of Communications

The Cathy Hughes School of Communications (SOC) is the third largest of Howard University’s 13 academic schools and colleges. For nearly 50 years, the School has trained journalists and media communication professionals through five of the most premier advertising, audio production, journalism, media management, and public relations programs in the world. SOC graduates are known at the local, national and global levels for their leadership within and across diverse communities through communication research, professional practice, innovation, job creation, social justice, and service via cutting-edge knowledge, skills, and technology. To learn more, visit: http://communications.howard.edu/

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States.  For more information on Howard University visit www.howard.edu

Media Contact: Imani Pope-Johns, Imani.popejohns@howard.edu