Janae Spooner

This past weekend, several Delaware State University mass communication students had the opportunity to gain experience by working with individuals in the industry. Two groups of volunteers were able to work side by side with official cable channels and college alum.

Taylor Boyd,  India Joseph, and Canaan Sims worked throughout the homecoming football game as assistants with the crew hired by ESPN. Additionally, Gwenna Gentle, Lauren Moon, Michelle Crockett, Jordyn Lyles, and David Reyes volunteered with DESU alum Shereen Williams in her documentary “The Return 2 Africa.” 

The students were able to apply techniques they had learned in their classes to the real world broadcasting environment. They were able to observe as their original work got translated to higher levels of production.

The ESPN crew appreciated the help from Sims and Boyd, even going so far as to call them ‘the most well-prepared students they had worked with.’

The documentary “Return to africa” will include filmed homecoming activities, and the students involveed will be receiving credit for their contributions on IMDB among other places. Their help was also well received by Williams, who stated: 

“The Return 2 Africa” is a participatory documentary that will trace the heritage of an African American family back to the same tribe through African Ancestry DNA. We flew my family to Africa. They provide entertaining results when offered a fully paid trip to Africa to connect with their long-lost relatives overseas. The project will highlight African culture that will connect them to various styles to release cultural stress, racisms, and shared emotional traumas that developed from Covid-19’s effect on Americans in collaboration with the social justice unrest connected with the George Floyd and Breonna Taylors murders.”