The word "Due" read from top-down and "South" left-right, with the U shared between them. Reminiscent of a compass.

Due South

HBCU 101: Summer Edition

By Leoneda Inge,

Published July 22, 2024 at 10:19 AM EDT

Keturah Haynes, a student at Fayetteville State University, chatted with co-host Leoneda Inge about the ways that summer courses are helping her achieve her dreams.

Big things happen at HBCUs in the summer. High school students prepare to visit campuses and decide which colleges and universities will be right for them.

For this summer edition of Due South's recurring series, "HBCU 101," Leoneda Inge chats with Keith and Belinda Shannon, founders of P.A.T.T. (Preparing America's Tomorrow Today), an organization that plans college bus tours for underserved students.

She also visits Fayetteville State University to learn more about the institution's 30, 60, 90 Free Summer School Program. Now in its fourth year, the program offers free tuition to qualifying undergraduate students. Leoneda Inge chats with participating students and Dr. Pamela Baldwin, vice chancellor of student success and enrollment management. (This segment was produced with assistance from Parys Smith of the WUNC Youth Reporting Institute.)

And during the summer stretch of baseball season, we revisit a conversation with HBCU grad Devin Sweet. The North Carolina Central University grad has pitched for both the minor and major leagues. He talks to Leoneda Inge about his love of the sport and his appreciation for NCCU. (This conversation was first broadcast on July 1, 2024.)

Guests

Keith and Belinda Shannon, founders of P.A.T.T.
Dr. Pamela Baldwin, vice chancellor for student success and enrollment management at Fayetteville State University
Keturah Haynes, class of 2026 at Fayetteville State
Devin Sweet, pitcher for the Toledo Mud Hens

Due South

Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

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Stacia Brown

Stacia L. Brown is a writer and audio storyteller who has worked in public media since 2016, when she partnered with the Association of Independents in Radio and Baltimore's WEAA 88.9 to create The Rise of Charm City, a narrative podcast that centered community oral histories. She has worked for WAMU’s daily news radio program, 1A, as well as WUNC’s The State of Things. Stacia was a producer for WUNC's award-winning series, Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon and a co-creator of the station's first children's literacy podcast, The Story Stables. She served as a senior producer for two Ten Percent Happier podcasts, Childproof and More Than a Feeling. In early 2023, she was interim executive producer for WNYC’s The Takeaway.

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Parys Smith

Parys Smith is from Durham, North Carolina, and this is her third year as a Youth Reporter. Over the past three summers, Smith has gathered compelling stories about advocating for black maternal health and LGBTQ+ youth. She has received a Gracie award for her radio story "Combatting the Mistreatment of Black Women in Healthcare.'' Smith's contributions have been so valuable that she was invited to continue working for WUNC from September 2022 to June 2024 as part of the Digital Transformation initiative at the station. During this period, Smith worked closely with Kamaya Truitt, Caitlin Leggett, Jeanine Ikekhua, and Christopher Williams to develop new content and engage new digital audiences. As part of the Digital Youth Voices team, Parys and her colleagues were honored with an RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Excellence in Innovation award for their work in journalism. Smith attends the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is majoring in Fine Arts. In addition to her professional pursuits, Parys has a keen interest in fashion, art, and acting.

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