Culture Fusion Agency, a college marketing agency and brand activation agency focused on the HBCU market, was founded in September 2019 by Monique Lewis and China-Marie O'Neal. The mission of Culture Fusion Agency is to allow students to have a platform to learn from and engage with entertainment industry professionals. With over 30 universities represented in their college ambassador and internship program, North Carolina A&T has made many impactful strides in the blossoming agency. NCAT's very own Madison Murray, a Senior Multimedia student, is the On-Air / Entertainment Contributor Lead and Editor for Culture Fusion Agency. In this role, Murray delegates, manages, and assists on-air /entertainment contributors like fellow Aggie Ta'Shawnda McMullen and edits the contributors' digital content, such as album reviews, IG live series, interviews, or television show and movie promotions.
Even though on-air contributors have hefty tasks, they get assistance from social media consultants like Mishell Ivy, a Senior Multimedia student at NCAT, to assist in creating and designing content on Culture Fusion Agency social media platforms. While Culture Fusion Agency focuses primarily on entertainment, the agency also covers fashion trends on HBCU and college campuses. Xavier Evans, a Senior Liberal Studies student at NCAT, is the Lead of Fashion Content at Culture Fusion Agency. All in all, Aggies all over campus contribute to many facets within this agency.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the Culture Fusion Agency ambassadors and interns have done most of their events virtually. "My favorite event was being able to interview Kranium," said Mishell Ivy. "I felt at home with that interview because I'm a first-generation American so being able to talk to another Caribbean who moved to the U.S. felt good."
As COVID-19 restrictions have become more flexible, Aggies have gotten the opportunity to work with many of these music artists and music industry professionals for the first time. "My favorite moment as a lead was our event with Morray because we got to bring him to our school," shared Madison Muray. "Moderating the event, being able to be his tour guide on campus, and having lunch with him and the campus ambassadors made it feel like a real-world experience."
In addition to Morray's visit to NCAT during Culture Fusion Agency's 2021 Welcome Week series, Ta'Shawnda McMullen says she enjoyed interacting with HBCU students from other schools. "My favorite moment was being able to travel with Aggie ambassadors to the Howard University stop on the 1017 HBCU Takeover because I was able to meet a lot of different artists all at one time and meet emerging artists from that city too," shared McMullen.
CFA's The New 1017: HBCU Homecoming Takeover stopped at Jackson State University, Florida A&M University, Morehouse College, Howard University, and Clark Atlanta University while inviting 1017 artists like Big Scarr, Kali, and Enchanting to the following universities to showcase new music, meet students, and give out exclusive merchandise. Culture Fusion Agency has given HBCU students who may not stay in entertainment market cities like Atlanta or Miami a chance to gain real-world industry experience to take with them post-graduation.
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Kaylah Kelty is a Senior at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University from Charlotte, NC. Currently, she is pursuing her B.S. in Journalism and Mass Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations. She focuses her craft in PR on the entertainment and travel sector.
