The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) chapter at Alcorn State University (ASU) has started the Fall semester off strong. They just completed a community service event where they allowed students to get their headshots taken for free and their latest event was a Virtual Lunch and Learn with Eva Coleman on Tuesday, September 26th at 12:30 pm.
This is not the first time that ASU’s NABJ has hosted the Region-III Director of the NABJ. Coleman currently resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but she supervises NABJ chapters in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
The Lunch and Learn took place on Zoom and it served as a forum for students to ask Coleman about anything dealing with her career. She has quite a lengthy and successful resume. Coleman prides herself on working in multimedia before it was even called that. Her long resume includes working in the realms of television, education, radio, and journalism. Similar to last year’s Lunch and Learn, Coleman brought up her childhood and how she knew that she had a creative mind.
“I’ve been a writer my entire life. I had work published in my elementary school newsletter. I’ve always been a writer. Also, when I was also in elementary school, I won an American Heart Association jingle contest. And that let me know that my creative writing skills were rewarded. So not only was I writing for the elementary school newsletter as an elementary school student, but for this entity to recognize me and grant me as a winner of a jingle contest, I was like wow. That was kind of big for me as a kid,” said Coleman.
With many Seniors present, Coleman also provided students with early career advice.
NABJ member, Delesha Banks asked, “What advice can you give a person that is trying to get resume reels together or portfolio reels together?”
Coleman responded, “Have a digital demo. You could do it as a Google doc with links, but I have it segmented, so I’ll have my video work that I’ve edited. I’ll have my graphic design pieces that I’ve done. I’ll have any audio things I’ve done.”
Coleman also gave students her contact information and encouraged them to reach out. She also encouraged them to come to her as mentees. She stressed that not only does she like to look over student’s work, but she also likes to have her work critiqued.
The Lunch and Learn provided students with a role model, advice, and opportunities. Stay tuned for the next NABJ event.