| In a day and age when legislators and educational governing bodies as well as the general population are having a collective discussion about the viability, sustainability and necessity of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Emilee Christopher ’09 is using her platform as a professional in the education policy and management ecosystem as well as the power of media to demonstrate the importance, relevance and reverberations of HBCUs in every sector of society.
Christopher is a feature cast member of “The Graduates NYC,” a new documentary, web series that examines the life of six graduates from various HBCUs now living in New York City.
A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Christopher is navigating and blazing her own trail as a young, ambitious and highly educated African American woman. The Graduates NYC takes the opportunity to explore how her experience at an HBCU (as well as the other cast members’) has affected her everyday life. To Christopher it was truly the catalyst for nearly everything that has happened in her life since graduation.
“I don’t think I would be on the trajectory I’m on now had I gone to any other school. Furthermore, I don’t think had I gone to any other school I would have gotten into Harvard,” said Christopher. “For me the combination of HBCU plus Ivy League was the perfect storm. I leveraged the experience I had at A&T to build a foundation. My master’s degree gave me the nuts and bolts to be moved to the next level, so I think combining those two things was perfect.”
Intentionally branded as a docuseries, “The Graduates NYC,” which airs on the Aspire network during halftime of live HBCU college football games and online, is far from the ever-popular, drama-laden reality shows that often do more harm than good. Although Christopher says there was light-hearted conversation, banter and themes being filmed, the series strategically delves into the lives of the members on a more professional level as they discuss current events, success and community activism.
“People can expect to see our real lives. There were some funny moments, but there was lots of real talk, real perspectives and hopefully something that young professionals who are HBCU alums or aspiring alums can really relate to,” she said. “Hopefully they will see that you can live a positive, productive life and not have to follow in the negative footsteps of what you may often see from mass media.”
“There were heated discussions and sensitive topics like black lives matter, voting and what it means to be civically engaged and people have different perspectives. Some conversations were more sensitive than others, but it’s the real world without the drama.”
It’s not just the fact that they dealt with issues of relevance, but it’s simply because it’s a conversation that, according to Christopher, is long overdue; especially a conversation regarding education, her passion.
“I would enjoy being on air more, especially in a commentary setting speaking about important issues, particularly education. We don’t have these conversations enough. I think that education is a very valuable part of the discussion that’s missing,” she said.
“There’s a specific layer of what’s happening in education and how it is a reciprocating aspect to many other issues, but it is often missing in dialogue. I would be happy to continue that conversation because I have many opinions. There’s a lot to be done and by having the right people at the table talking about what we may not be seeing from the macro-level in terms of policy is very important.”
While the show does have entertainment value, the goal is to bring HBCUs into the conversation and to the table with other education options. Christopher hopes the series will help spread the word in a positive way that will allow students to consider HBCUs as options to grow and develop into successful professionals.
Other cast members hail from Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, Morehouse College and North Carolina Central University.
“The Graduates NYC” can be viewed on the Aspire TV network or Aspire.tv.
Send Us Your News
Do you have good news to share? Have you recently received a promotion or special recognition? If you’d like to be considered for a future story, click here. |
