Students from five historically Black colleges and universities were selected to participate in the fall ’24 class of the Open Campus HBCU Student Journalism Network.
This group comprises the fourth cohort of the program, which pairs each student journalist with an advisor and mentor and creates trainings and networking opportunities throughout the semester.
The fellows were chosen from a group of 118 applicants. This cohort includes:
- Micah Barkley, a senior at Florida A&M University.
- Ja’Caiya Y. Stephens, a senior at Florida A&M University.
- Aleisha Robinson, a junior at Morgan State University.
- Marcus Bland, a senior at Dillard University.
- Dierre Hartman, a senior at Jackson State University.
- Azia Ross, a senior at Howard University.
The fellows will report on all aspects of HBCUs, on their own campuses but also on broader trends and issues. This cohort is particularly interested in covering the upcoming presidential election and its influence on university communities. Select stories will be co-published in national outlets — prior fellows’ stories ran in The Washington Post, Capital B, and Verité News, and other outlets.
“Through this fellowship, I aim to contribute to a more diverse and inclusive media landscape while growing as a journalist dedicated to truth and integrity,” Barkley wrote in her application.
About Open Campus
Founded in 2019, Open Campus is the only nonprofit news organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to higher education. It’s built on an innovative collaborative model, combining a national newsroom that knows higher ed deeply with local newsrooms that know their communities deeply. Open Campus has put local reporters on the higher-ed beat in partnerships with ten newsrooms around the country.