The music industry is easy to dream about, but very hard to break into. When jobs and opportunities for students to intern were cut down due to the pandemic, a big name from the industry stepped in.
Amid the increase in socially-distanced learning, 300 Entertainment set out to provide 3 students with the tools needed to empower their journey from the classroom to the boardroom and beyond. The high-profile label features big artists such as Meg Thee Stallion, Gunna, and Young Thug, so they went all out for the prizes. Among other things, the Intern To CEO program winners received a one-on-one session with an executive at 300 Entertainment, a $1,000 Apple gift card, a $500 gift card, plus a copy of CEO and Morgan State University alumnus Kevin Liles’ book “Make It Happen.” Now, we know who these deserving 3 students are.
Spelman College senior Raquel Thomas immediately stood out as an ambitious applicant. As a first generation college student, Georgia-native Raquel has made the best of her education. She was salutatorian in high school, and pursues a Sociology major with a Spanish minor at Spelman. She has widened her views of the world by studying in the Dominican Republic and Italy as well.
With her eyes set on social justice reform, Raquel applied to the contest as an entry to doing work with music artists’ foundations. Right before the COVID-19 pandemic began, she launched the Liberating Legacies program to address the fact that 1 in 9 Black children has an incarcerated parent. She would eventually like to turn the program into a non-profit that provides children with incarcerated parents and who are in foster care with the social, emotional, and academic resources they need to thrive.
In graduate school, Thomas plans to narrow her efforts in on Black girls, who are the largest growing population in the juvenile justice system. Organizations that she would like to collaborate with in the future include Lil Baby’s 4 the People Foundation, 21 Savage’s Leading by Example Foundation, Big Boi’s Big Kidz Foundation and Big Sean’s Sean Anderson Foundation.
The Intern to CEO program provided a rare opportunity for Arkansas-native Rodney Anderson, who attends the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University. He grew up as a trained dancer in genres like Modern, Lyrical, Contemporary, Ballet, and Hip-hop. Now as a queer R&B and Hip-hop artist, also known as “Rodney Chrome,” he uses his music to uplift an often silenced group in his community. His recent project, Queer Pressure, was created to inspire queer creatives to utilize their gifts and create a change within spaces that need their voices the most.
“Not having the luxuries of worrying about college expenses while also feeling creatively hindered by the world’s current circumstances are reasons why I’m beyond grateful for 300 Entertainment initiating such a beautiful opportunity for students like myself,” said Anderson.
With music on her mind, Felix Taylor moved from Northwest Arkansas to southern music capital Nashville, Tennessee after earning her associate’s degrees in Art and Science. She applied to the contest to diversify her creative skills in video production.
“In the one week free trial I had to use Premiere Pro, I had a ton of fun teaching myself how to edit, record voice overs, and shoot b-roll to create my entry,” Taylor said about her application process.
Taylor is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree at Middle Tennessee State University. She ultimately hopes to create artwork for musicians in the creative department at a record label.
