The Undefeated Announces Fifth Class of Rhoden Fellows

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Today, The Undefeated announced six journalism students who have been selected for the fifth class of the Rhoden Fellowship.

What’s Happening: 

  • ESPN’s The Undefeated has announced six students who will participate in the fifth class of the Rhoden Fellowship, an internship program that identifies and trains aspiring African American journalists.
  • The 2021-2022 group of students hail from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and are actively pursuing a career in sports journalism.
  • A panel of senior editors at The Undefeated and sports columnist William C. Rhoden selected the Fellows from a pool of outstanding applicants from HBCUs across the country.
  • The fifth class represents future journalists of color from five Historically Black Colleges and Universities:
    • Florida A&M University
    • Hampton University
    • Howard University
    • Morgan State University
    • North Carolina A&T State University
  • The Rhoden Fellowship class will begin Monday, June 7th, and conclude at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year.

What They’re Saying:

  • Kelley Raina, vice president and editor-in-chief, The Undefeated: “Congratulations and a big welcome to the fifth anniversary class of Rhoden Fellows. You represent our effort at The Undefeated to nurture diverse voices in journalism. Be bold. Not conventional. Never boring.”
  • William C. Rhoden, The Undefeated columnist and head of the Rhoden Fellowship: “My deepest appreciation to the Undefeated and ESPN for their unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion in journalism through their investment to the Fellowship. Previous Fellows are already making their marks in journalism. We welcome the fifth class of talented Fellows and are excited to see the footprints they will leave.”

The 2021-2022 Rhoden Fellows:

  • Keion Cage – Hampton University: Cage, a native of Houston, Texas, is a strategic communications student with a minor in leadership studies. He currently serves as the associate editor for The Hampton Script, a student-run newspaper. Cage has written for SLAM Magazine and VYPE Media – a regional high school and youth sports platform.
  • Alexis Davis – North Carolina A&T State University: Davis is a senior multimedia journal journalism student from Prince George’s County, MD. She is a sports and culture contributor for The A&T Register, the campus newspaper at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro.
  • Sarah Jones-Smith – Howard University: A senior broadcast journalism major from Orange County, CA, Jones-Smith writes for The Hilltop, Howard University’s student newspaper, and her writing has been published by The Los Angeles Wave, and more.
  • Kianah Robinson-Chery – Hampton University: Robinson-Chery, a senior journalism major and cinema studies minor, worked for a year in videography and photography for the Hampton University band’s media team.
  • Cayla Sweazie – Morgan State University: Sweazie, a senior multimedia journalism student and student-athlete with Morgan State’s softball team, is from Ashburn, VA.
  • She is a contributing writer for The Spokesman, Morgan State’s student newspaper, and is on the masthead of the digital Unapologetic & Pure Magazine, a site by young journalists for young readers.
  • Calvin Sykes – Florida A&M University: Sykes is a graduate student in sports science at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, FL. A native of Miami, Sykes was the sideline reporter for the Florida A&M Rattlers football from 2018-2020, program director for the school’s radio station WANM FM 90.5, and has written for HBCU GameDay.

About the Rhoden Fellowship:

  • The Rhoden Fellowship is a one-year program founded by former New York Times award-winning sports columnist William C. “Bill” Rhoden.
  • The fellowship is open to outstanding students at HBCUs.
  • The Fellows work as student correspondents during the academic year, covering and reporting sports, as well as general news, at their respective universities for The Undefeated’s HBCU vertical.
  • They also create recurring multimedia content; host and produce podcasts addressing resonant issues and topics affecting young people.