By Valder Beebe
Terrence J, won an Oscar for the short film “Two Distant Strangers,” as an executive producer of the film. Terrence J, best known as the host of BET’s popular music video countdown show 106 & Park. As a HBCU graduate, Terrence J. is an alum from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Recently named the national ambassador for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. I invited him into the Valder Beebe Show studios to share about his leading the initial sessions of a new program #RecognizeTheChew Class in Session Series that showcases the impact of the HBCU experience and inspires the next generation of Black leaders.
Keshia Knight Pulliam — business leader, philanthropist and one of the youngest actresses ever nominated for an Emmy for her work on The Cosby Show and acclaimed actor, Terrence J. are partnered with the program, sponsored by Now and Later® candy, is called #RecognizeTheChew Class in Session Series. The program is founded on the C.H.E.W. mantra, an acronym for Champion, Hustle, Empower, and Win. Participating HBCU schools will receive a $10,000 donation to create a scholarship fund for participating students as well as host a virtual seminar where students will have a chance to draw inspiration from influential HBCU alumni, who have notably mastered the “art of the hustle”. K. K. Pulliam & Terrence J’s publicists provided text in conjunction with the Valder Beebe Show
VBS: Terrence, congratulations on your recent Oscar win. We’re so proud for you. There is money finally floating around HCBU’s, finally! My husband is a product of HCBU by attending Johnson C. Smith in Michigan. Tell me what you have going on.
TJ: I am a graduate of HCBU, North Carolina A&T State University. We’re doing a very special program with Now and Later. It’s called #RecognizeTheChew. What chew stands for is champion, hustle, empower and win. We’re going to do a virtual class and talk about why it is important to hustle. I’ve hustled my entire career. I can’t wait to work with the Universities and share some of this knowledge. In addition to that, There is a big $10,000 scholarship going out to students.
VBS: How will the students get connect with the scholarship money?
TJ: Go to Now and Later and you can find all of the information on the program and obtaining the scholarship. The site also talks more about my class.
VBS: As a HBCU alumni, when a young person attends a HBCU tell me what value they can possibly obtain.
TJ: For me personally, attending a HBCU gave me a chance to get my grades up, join a fraternity and I believe, I would not have won my Oscar award without my attending a HBCU. These are significant achievements………
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