Lawrence Gross, William Rhoden, and SJGC Dean Mira Lowe |
Lawrence Gross, a junior broadcast journalism student, has been selected as a Rhoden Fellow for the class of 2023-24.
A staff writer for the FAMUan student newspaper, Goss edits the online newscast at FAMU TV-20 and shoots some weekly newscasts. Goss also anchors the Rattler Take sports show. The Atlanta native transferred to FAMU in 2020 from Hampton University, where he first heard about the Rhoden Fellowship Initiative. He dreams of being a sideline reporter and analyst working the major sports events.
“I look forward to being in different rooms that I probably wouldn’t be in without the Fellowship and meeting people who can help my career,” Goss said.
The Rhoden Fellows program is named after award-winning sports columnist William C. “Bill” Rhoden. The fellowship was created in partnership with Andscape, as an opportunity to increase diversity and inclusion in sports journalism.
Each year, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) undergraduates apply to participate in the internship. Rhoden and a panel of senior editors at Andscape then select class of fellows.
Rhoden, visited the FAMU SJGC on May 1 to personally meet Goss.
“Each class gets better and better. We do a better job of selecting. It’s a privilege to get to know a lot of young, talented journalists like Lawrence and see them grow. I am interested to see where they are when they begin the program and where they are at the end of the program,” Rhoden said. “It’s always great to welcome a new class of fellows and hear their dreams. It’s cool to help facilitate those dreams in a practical way.”
Goss is the fourth SJGC student to be named a Rhoden Fellow. Previous SJGC Rhoden Fellows include Pamela Rentz, Calvin Sykes and Marissa Stubbs.