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N.C. A&T’s Dockery Lands ESPN’s Undefeated Rhoden Fellowship

10/04/2019 Students, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Journalism & Mass Communication English

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C (Oct. 4, 2019) – East Dockery, a sophomore multimedia journalism student from Greensboro, N.C., was selected as a participant from among four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the third class of Rhoden Fellows – a one-year sports journalism internship program with ESPN’s The Undefeated that identifies and trains aspiring African American journalists.

east dockery

The Fellows are working as stringers during the academic year, covering and reporting sports, as well as general news, at their respective universities for The Undefeated. They also create and produce weekly multimedia content, and host and produce podcasts addressing resonant issues and topics affecting young people.

“It’s been a great opportunity,” Dockery said. “I’ve had the chance to cover the MEAC-SWAC Challenge where I interviewed the commissioners and partnered with the NFL. I’ve produced, co-hosted and edited a podcast and wrote my first article on the Chris Paul event at A&T last month.”

During the summer, the Fellows worked 40-hour weeks at ESPN offices in New York City and at The Undefeated in Washington, D.C., where they gained first-hand experience in all aspects of sports journalism.

Funded by ESPN, the Rhoden Fellowship is a one-year program founded by former New York Times award-winning sports columnist William C. Rhoden, who joined ESPN’s The Undefeated in October 2016 to run the fellowship program and serve as columnist and editor-at-large.

“I could not be more proud that ESPN and The Undefeated have invested in a third class of Rhoden Fellows,” said Rhoden. “This demonstrates ESPN’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and to producing a new generation of journalists.” 

The fellowship – established as part of The Undefeated’s mission to develop new voices and serve as an incubator for future sports journalists of color – is open to outstanding undergraduate students at HBCUs.

 “I am the first female student from A&T to participate in the fellowship,” Dockery said. “I hope to continue to put A&T out there and represent our university in a positive light.”

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