Academy Award-Winning filmmaker Spike Lee has teamed up with The Gersh Agency to announce the five fellows selected into the inaugural class of Spike Fellows at Gersh Program.

The program was “designed to nurture creative undergraduate students from the Atlanta University Center Consortium (which consists of three Historically Black Colleges and Universities based in Atlanta — Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University) who have an interest in the entertainment industry.”

This program will place five HBCU future industry leaders both in front of and behind the camera.

The five individuals selected to participate in the Spike Fellows at Gersh, which is led by Gersh’s Head of Culture Jayson Council, will undergo an 8-week paid summer learning experience,“consisting of an agency wide departmental rotation, senior level industry mentoring, curated off-site learning moments, and volunteer service projects.”

The five Spike Fellows who were selected to participate are:

Quentin Anderson – Morehouse College

Tai Livingston – Spelman College

Jalen Ellis – Morehouse College

Shayna Cartledge – Clark Atlanta University

Halle Jones – Clark Atlanta University

Three Spike fellows will be based in Los Angeles and two Spike fellows will be based in New York.

“The Gersh Agency is truly committed to building a more diverse and dynamic ecosystem that provides support and resources to aspiring filmmakers and beyond” said Bob Gersh, Co-President of Gersh.

At the end of the program, each Spike Fellow will be awarded $25,000 in academic debt relief and full-time employment beginning September 5, 2024.

Gersh will also support on-campus programming throughout the school year.

“When creating transformative legacy oriented opportunities like the Spike Fellows, it’s critical to focus on non-transactional partnerships deeply rooted in respect and sustainable impact” said Council.