"So here I am reaching out to Howard University, FAMU (Florida A&M), (North Carolina) A&T," said Elyse. "And it's so crazy because I didn't even know I could do this. But here I am continuing to do the work."
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Admittedly, Elyse said it became challenging when those same universities and marketing directors failed to complete memorandums of understanding and contracts.
"This whole process, I'm proving to myself, 'You know you can do it, Cameron,' she recalled. Elyse remembered learning about North Carolina Central University through her aunt and an affiliation with the school's alumni association. So she took a leap of faith and enrolled at NC Central.
ALSO SEE: NCCU School of Law receives $100,000 grant from Duke Energy Foundation
"And when I came to Central, I was immediately welcomed with this air of we want to help you. We see what you're doing. We see your vision and that's where I am now," she recalled.
The documentary is titled "Essence: Nothing Can Control Us," with the latter part of the title an acronym for NCCU. It features her journey as a student at an HBCU.
"The ups, the downs, and the in-betweens," she said. "Here I am thinking it's going to be a fashion production, but here I am with a whole team, you know? It's about following the path that God has laid out for you and being obedient."
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Elyse envisions the documentary to be more of a docuseries with four main parts. Each part represents her four-year collegiate experience with 20-30 episodes within each act.
ALSO SEE: 'A Star Without a Star' is the untold story of Juanita Moore's legacy
"It's more or less about what we did, but more so how did you get there. So I think people seeing how we did get there, I think that'll be very impactful and inspiring," she said. "It's really forcing me to be a leader, which is a great thing. Because even for my own trajectory, leadership in business is definitely one of the things that I am going to be accomplishing."
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You can watch episodes of "Essence: Nothing Can Control Us" on YouTube and other social media platforms.
ABC11 Black History Month: Chuck Davis
ABC11 Black History Month: Chuck Davis
ABC11 Black History Month: Johnson O. Akinleye, PhD
ABC11 Black History Month: Johnson O. Akinleye, PhD