iation Invests in CSUDH Students

critics as well. “There aren’t any classes on critiquing art or media, I want to ask critics how they got to where they are, studying journalism and how they became critics,” explained Bravo.

Bravo wishes to make an impact on aspiring film critics and hopes to open doors for them and their future work. He adds: “The experience and displaying my work at a World Press Freedom Day, networking, and being able to write this on my resume and to be recognized is what I hope to achieve.”

Mary McFadden is another graduating senior who took a chance at the HFPA fellowship grant. “It was brought to my attention by Dr. de la Serna,” said McFadden. “She told my class and advised us all to go and apply. I immediately jumped at the chance.

“The grant was extremely helpful. This is my last semester and the scholarship paid for my classes. I’m a cash-paying student and the grant has really made a huge difference in my life,” McFadden said.

During World Press Freedom Day, Mcfadden presented her project on the inequalities of representation of female Asian-American journalists in the news industry.

She was excited to share her work with the Journalism faculty, her colleagues, and her family, but still had to conquer her nerves.

“The presentation is a really big project, and speaking in front of my peers and future potential colleagues is a bit nerve wracking,” McFadden said.

On the other hand, she considers the results rewarding. “This process has shown me how capable I am in producing a big project on my own, not just in an academic setting, but also professionally,”

McFadden said.

“I encourage all COM students to go out and apply for the HFPA grant, it’s a transformative experience that all college students should have.”

The FTVM program also had three HFPA fellows this year, a group that Dr. Vanderhoef called “very promising creative writers and filmmakers.”

The grant also afforded them the opportunity to work on a creative project they normally wouldn’t be able to do. “They’re given a fellowship and all we ask is they work on a project they might’ve not been able to work on, needed a new computer, equipment, or resources that the grant allowed them to get,” Dr. Vanderhoef said.

FTVM fellows Ariela Valenzia Perez, Diane Carrilo, and Brandon Shores received a grant from the HFPA and CSUDH for creating screenplays. Perez worked on a screenplay of a daughter of immigrants with dreams of going to college. Carillo, a screenplay about a parent dying from the perspective of a Mexican American. Shores is writing a TV pilot on a bi-racial Filipino kid living in Los Angeles.

The FTVM fellows will hopefully be able to showcase their work at future events and panels through the Hollywood by the Horns program, which connects the diverse and talented students at CSUDH and professionals in the media industries.

“HFPA contributed the past two years to the Hollywood by the Horns initiative, to create a pipeline of our students and the industry,” said Dr. Vanderhoef. “We did a panel in the fall about above-the-line workers in the industry and, in the spring we had a panel about entry-level work in the industry, featuring CSUDH alum.”

For more information on Hollywood by the Horns events, visit the COM Department’s website. For information on The Society of Independent Student Journalists and World Press Freedom Day, visit their Instagram page @csudh_sisj.