Chevrolet and NNPA Give Howard Students an Opportunity to “Discover the Unexpected”

Chevrolet gave Howard University communications students the chance of a lifetime this summer. Not only were they afforded the opportunity to change the narrative of media reporting in the African American community in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, and Detroit with the help of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and Chevrolet, but the eight students studying at Howard’s School of Communications were also awarded scholarships to further support their academic endeavors.

“The Discover the Unexpected fellowship program [highlights and celebrates] positive stories of men and women making a tremendous impact in their communities,” said Paul Edwards, U.S. vice president, Chevrolet Marketing. “Chevrolet is fully committed to this important initiative. We believe our DTU fellows are leaders in the next generation of African American journalists and storytellers, and we are proud to support them in their mission to create meaningful narratives that foster a collective sense of pride.”

DTU was created to support the next generation of African American journalists and storytellers as they blaze new trails in journalism. The DTU Fellows discovered and delivered positive, unexpected news stories about what is affecting their communities. The Fellows used the all new 2016 Chevrolet Malibu during their reporting assignments to help them discover real news stories.

During the summer, students from the program worked in pairs of two with NNPA professional advisers in select markets at member papers such as Atlanta Voice, Chicago Defender, Michigan Chronicle, and Washington Informer. To wrap up the summer program, legendary lyricist and hip hop pioneer MC Lyte hosted a candid discussion with the students from Howard University’s School of Communications, who participated in Chevrolet’s and NNPA ‘s Discover the Unexpected journalism fellowship program, during Congressional Black Caucus Week. MC Lyte then premiered the DTU video, recapping highlights from the Fellows’ summer experiences. Immediately following the video, MC Lyte turned the tables by interviewing the Fellows, to find out more about their DTU journey.