(Black PR Wire) The Florida Memorial University chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ-FMU) has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the NASCAR Foundation. The grant will help fund broadcast equipment for communication students at the Miami Gardens, Fla. campus.

"This is the boost my communication program needs to not only purchase new video cameras, but to encourage my students to become excellent, creative journalists," said Russell Motley, FMU's broadcast journalism professor and NABJ-FMU's adviser.

In front of thousands of racing fans, NABJ-FMU will be awarded the grant on Nov. 19 at the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.

As part of NASCAR's diversity program, 18 FMU broadcast students will have the opportunity to put their media skills to work at the championship race Nov. 18-19. The student journalists, who attend South Florida's only HBCU, will be assigned various duties, including filming, writing, on-air reporting and managing NASCAR's social media platforms during the race.

"It's my dream to work behind the scenes in NASCAR's media department," said Joseph Ellick, an FMU senior and president of NABJ-FMU. "This experience puts me in the center of all the action at NASCAR. Now it's time to apply everything I learned in the classroom and prove that I'm ready for the workforce."

This is the second consecutive year NABJ-FMU members have been invited to cover NASCAR's championship race in Homestead.
                              

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