Tiffany Greene 'Blown Away' Mentoring Aspiring Journalists From HBCUs
HOUSTON — Sports broadcaster Tiffany Greene captures the attention of HBCU sports fans each year with her captivating voice and legendary tales alongside her longtime booth partner Jay Walker. The FAMU alum is known for her in-depth sports knowledge and ability to deliver colorful imagery for historic sports broadcasts and events. While Greene has experienced powerful sports moments in the past, mentoring several HBCU students in the Discover the Unexpected (DTU) fellowship program this summer has been a highly rewarding experience for her.
"I feel like I've seen a lot of things," Green said. "I had the opportunity to have a number of well-rounded experiences. But I walk away from this thinking, 'Wow!' I know I'm supposed to teach these young people, but I'm learning a lot from them in this experience."
The partnership between Chevrolet and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) developed through the leadership of Tarshena Armstrong, who serves as the Director of Diversity Marketing and Development for General Motors.
GREENE'S REWARDING IMPRESSIONS
Greene found it was special to assist the aspiring journalists in their coverage of the HBCU Swingman Classic in Seattle, Washington, before the 2023 MLB All-Star Weekend.
"I'm here in Seattle with the Chevy DTU internship program," Greene told HBCU Legends. "It's a fellowship and partnership with the NNPA. Chevy has selected internship fellows for the summer, six of whom are on a journalism track. Four have a focus as marketing interns at GM in Detroit. It's a holistic first-class experience from all angles to what it's like to be a journalist."
Greene enjoyed the uniqueness of the experience for the interns. "My goodness, they have traversed the country, at times in Chevy vehicles, at NNPA events, and assigned to write articles for black newspapers across the country." She continued, "They were about to intermingle with the extraordinary journalist Bill Rhoden, HBCU Swingman Classic founder Ken Griffey, FAMU and MLB great Andre Dawson, sports journalist Mia Berry, other celebrities and media professionals.
The 'Discover The Unexpected' program's marketing interns are Jordan Jennings (FAMU), Jada Tullos (Alabama A&M), Carmen Graham (Delaware St), and Janiya Pearson (Hampton). The journalism fellows include Eshe Ukweli (Howard), Jacob Bellevue (Howard), Brielle Smith (Howard), Robertney Harlan (Howard), Antonio Sweeney (Morehouse), and Solomon Hayes (Morehouse). Greene revealed that Chevy would grant the interns a scholarship worth $10,000 and provide each of them with an $8,000 stipend.
"I'm impressed, Greene exclaimed. "I'm blown away. You think about how these kids had the red carpet rolled out for them, and they have every reason to succeed. Because they are getting full support, it is thoughtful and meaningful. The teams have come together with GM and Carol H Williams ad agency."
YOUNG JOURNALISTS CAN BRIDGE THE HBCU-MLB GAP
Harold Reynolds said on the HBCU Swingman Classic broadcast that "6.2 sticks out." Why? Only 6.2% of the Major League Baseball players are blacks from the United States. In the past several years, only a small number of baseball players from HBCUs have been selected in the draft. Currently, there is a focused attempt to reintroduce Black American baseball players to the league. The process begins in little league and school programs, where HBCU talent is developed, and MLB scouts and executives become interested.
Greene noted, "You just can't beat this. When you're talking about trying to find innovative ways to bridge the gap and provide exposure for the HBCU baseball players, but also circle back to a time when there was a special connection between HBCUs, the black community, and Major League Baseball. They're trying to rekindle that. And it's great to have young minds be surrounded by this experience so that they can amplify."
Although it's not the first fellowship of its kind for HBCU students to gain experience in journalism, Tiffany Greene believes that the Discover the Unexpected program has one of the most influential models. "I finally believe they can take a page out of the book from the Chevy DTU program because this is not a performative-based program to check a box. This is intentional. This is put together with purpose. I hope other companies pay close attention to it," Green concluded.