The second installment of “Leaving Home – An HBCU Story,” which traces the journey of a rising freshman as she leaves Los Angeles to attend college at North Carolina A&T University. There is such a juggle of emotions that we all experience during times of transition and growth. We did our best to capture it all in hopes of starting the college conversation with the kids in our families and neighborhoods.

Play is, share it, comment!

See Part 1 here>>>
Also be on the lookout for the interviews that go with the series.

The memories of my first day moving in to my college dorm raced through my mind vividly the day that I shot this. I remember my mother, father and brother driving me down to DC in a truck packed with everything I thought was important to me in large trashbags, suitcases and a trunk passed down to me from my brother’s college days. Dorm life wasn’t foreign to me because my brother was only 3 hours away at college when I was on summer and winter break and I remember going down to stay with him at least 3 times. I also attended the Pre-Orientation session before my freshman year where we went to classes and stayed in dorms to get us acclimated to college living before it actually started counting. However, there is something very REAL about knowing that this dorm room is where you will be spending your next year away from home. Suddenly, I questioned if I was really ready for this. I had to realize there would be no plush rug under my feet when I brushed my teeth in the morning, there would be no endless selection of home cooked left-overs in the fridge and most importantly, I would be alone.

Granted, Kaiya’s dorm room was 10 times better than mine, I still related to her questioning if she made the right decision. My dorm room had no central air, I had no cable and it was suggested to me several times that I go to the store immediately and purchase some Boric Acid to make sure I kept the roaches out. We had one bathroom for every floor, mini-fridges were allowed, but no microwaves.

I will tell you this though. The friends that I made in that dorm that freshman year are some of the friends that I value most in life. We went through the same acclimation struggles together that year, we played pranks together and we watched each others backs. It didn’t matter where we were from, we set our differences aside and grew together as brothers.

Stay tuned to “Leaving Home: An HBCU Story” to see if Kaiya breaks out of her funk.

Shout-out to my boy Johnny Jones of TYPE Media who came out to Greensboro to help me capture the rest of this series. Although he was on a different floor, he was also an incoming freshman that year with me.

- Rustin “Roundup Russy” Moore

“Leaving Home: An HBCU Story” is a brainchild of Rustin “Roundup Russy” Moore that began as a Kickstarter film project entitled “First 48: HBCU Edition”. Since shot in August of 2011 in Los Angeles, CA and on the campus of NCAT in Greensboro, NC there have been some challenges (As described in Russy’s Director’s Notes) but we are proud to deliver a 100% creative project from Alumni Roundup.

“I wanted to bring the HBCU experience to children who may not have the opportunity to go on HBCU tours. I think it will also be a resource to parents to ease their concerns of sending their child off to school at one of our sacred institutions. My goals are to 1. Expose our youth to more positive HBCU content 2. Revolutionize the admissions and recruiting methods of HBCU’s by delivering a virtual tour/documentary.”
- Roundup Russy

If you enjoy the concept, project and content, please comment, “LIKE” the video, and share it on FB and TWITTER.

Thank you
-Alumni Roundup Staff

The first week of June 2011, I announced a project that I wanted to film and deliver for the greater good of HBCU’s underprivileged youth who could not afford to go on College Tours and for the sake of my creative mind that jumps for joy when it gets to shine without constraints from clients or sponsors.

If you are reading this post and are not familiar with the project, please view it HERE.

I am writing this to give you an update on the project and an explaination on several barriers that came into play between the time my project was successfully funded in July and today.

KICKSTARTER:
Kickstarter is a GREAT way to express your ideas of projects and give potential backers the confidence that the project is screened for authenticity as well as verify the creator to some extent. Initially, I submitted my project to Kickstarter and I had back and forth dialogue each day for a week with two of their moderators. Even though it became discouraging for a second, I appreciate the fact that they actually read and re-read my project for clarity and made sure that I was not just a schemer trying to get your Western Union account info to transfer millions of dollars to your bank account from the Royal Bank of Nigeria. I will get this out early and then move on, KICKSTARTER is DOPE, it was a great tool with a great staff and really makes things easy behind the scenes as far as organization of your project backers and the tracking of your goal.

With that said, here are the challenges I ran into:

- I created my project in June with loose dates around the actual filming on NCAT campus. Kaiya was scheduled to still go to pre-orientation to solidify her dates. The date that I thought I was going to actually begin filming was the last week of August. Well Kickstarter has a policy to hold your funds for 14 days after being successfully funded, then Amazon(who handles the CC transactions) holds your funds for an additional 3-5 business days. Well, it ends up I was off on my dates by 2 weeks. The trip to NCAT was going to happen on the 10th of August. As soon as I found out, I contacted Kickstarter Admin because there is no option on the back end to modify your donation end date. I was informed that if I wanted to change my date, I would have to remove my project and re-upload it with the modified date. That was a major problem because at that point, I had hundreds of dollars in donations that would be cancelled and I would have to solicit them again. BOTTOM LINE: I had to come out of my own pocket around $3,000 on travel expenses to complete my project. My money did end up coming in, but after my flights to LA and NC with corresponding hotel rooms, rental cars and food consumed.

- “No Fundraising”: At the $100 donation mark, backers would not only be donating to the creation of this project, but also would be contributing DIRECTLY to the book and supply fund for Kaiya. Once I had officially launched my project and actually started getting donations, one of the mediators obviously went back to re-read the project in depth and categorized that book fund reward to be a “fundraiser” which Kickstarter does not condone. The forum they provide is meant to raise funds for the final project and not raise funds on behalf of someone else. BOTTOM LINE: I had to remove that section of my project. I still held true to my backers at that dollar amount, I just could not list it in my project.

- “All or Nothing” - Kickstarter allows you to post your project with a GOAL dollar amount. The issue is that if you do not raise that amount, you do not get ANYTHING! So, I broke out the paper and pen and started drafting a budget; what it would cost with minimal damage to my own pocket. I came up with something in the middle of modest and shoestring; $3,000. I knew that after the fees were drawn out, that I would have roughly $2,500. This was my first time asking for money for a project, so I admit I was VERY nervous seeing that I had a goal to meet in less than 60 days. My nerves were put at some kind of ease when, in the first 30 days I was more than halfway to my goal. Again, the same as the project donation end date, I wanted to up my goal amount, but I could not without removing my project and re-posting it. I knew I needed more funds to shoot it the way I wanted so I had to just reach out to everyone and express my interest to start the project in LA and explained the funds needed to do so. BOTTOM LINE: Budgeting your project is THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT of using Kickstarter. Make sure you factor in the fees associated with your goal amount. You will also have to factor in people’s card #s changing, LIFE happening to backers making them unable to match their pledges and having to monitor the CC transactions for “failed” notifications due to number typos or expired cards.

The Project Name aka Delay #1. The name of my project initially was “First 48: HBCU Yard Edition”. I named it such just due to the concept. I thought it would be cool to follow an incoming freshman for their first 48 hours on campus. I remember my first 2 days at Howard took a lot of adjusting on my side; realizing I couldn’t just go home after class and that mom wasn’t going to be cooking dinner at night. At some point during the donation process, I really began to think about the title and how it could be receive a negative connotation as A&E TV’s program, First 48 is centered around violent crimes. I wanted to create something with a positive vibe; I just didn’t know what I wanted to call it and I had already started marketing it as such heavy on Twitter and Facebook. After everything was all shot and I was back home, I started brainstorming with my brother about the name of the project. After several crumpled up pieces of paper, one name really embodied what the project was all about- “Leaving Home: An HBCU Story”. BOTTOM LINE: Don’t let your creative project become a victim of copyright infringement and make sure the project’s title embodies the feeling, vision and idea you want to convey.

Music: aka Delay #2. 90% of my regular YouTube videos have soundtracks of popular songs that were hot on the airwaves when the video was produced. On YouTube, all you have to do is give credit to the artist and/or copyright holder and they will let you rock with it. The YouTube bots skim your content and then allow the record label to advertise on your video in an effort to sell the track on iTunes. This project is a bit different as it will not only live on YouTube. Thanks to a very good friend, Ted Darlington, once all of the episodes are compiled, they will be burned onto DVDs and be delivered to 50+ middle schools along the East Coast. The video will be shown to children in order to get them intrigued into pursuing higher education early and as designed, will be a virtual tour for children who may not have the financial means to attend college tours. Because of this, I had to solicit original music and get agreements from artists and producers to use their content. BOTTOM LINE: Don’t leave the door open for a lawsuit. This would ultimately mean either court proceedings or you having to remove your video from any online channel to re-edit, subsequently losing any viewership you may have gained.

All of that about sums up what I had to deal with for the past few months of delivering my brainchild with 100% ownership of my content.

I want to end all of this with a few “Thank You’s”

- First and Foremost: Kaiya Watson, Natam and Dwayne Laurent – The incoming freshman and her parents. It was a shot in the dark asking someone who I had never met to follow them with a camera for 3 days, inside of their home and during an event that is not only stressful but private as there are a lot of emotions that are running rampid dropping a loved one off across the nation.

- My Brother- “Be” Moore: This is a personal project but is directly in line with our first brainchild, AlumniRoundup, so it naturally included him. He has been instrumental from the budgeting, being available for last minute questions on the road, to watching and time-stamping footage, to editing the project in a way that is absolutely in line with my vision.

- Genevieve Ascencio: Officially my first backer. I remember I uploaded my Kickstarter project late one night, wrote a tweet and was just anxious awaiting to hear ANYTHING, to see any kind of support. Around 2am I saw my first donation notification and it was from Gen. I was so happy, I couldn’t contain my smile! I did a little jig around the house and my dream went from a just an idea to a movement.

- E. Isis Adewale: My coordinator, Kaiya’s comfort system and the person who was willing to listen to all of my hair-brain ideas for Kickstarter until I finally found one that would really mean something to me instead of just producing content because I thought it was cool.

- Erin from EMQ Networks: Just when my donations were slowing a bit, I got a notification early in the morning saying that someone pledged $500. Mind you, I have never met Erin before, so I was trying to contain my jubilance until I found out if this was real or if someone accidentally typed an extra zero on their pledge. I sent Erin an email back that morning asking her to confirm the donation. I swear the next few hours, I was nervous to the point I was nauseous. Mid-afternoon, I got a response from Erin and she confirmed it. This was the real deal… At that point, I think I was within a few hundred dollars of my original goal. The project was so attainable at that point that I could taste it.

- Adrienne from Youth Roundup: Adrienne was an early backer and supporter of the project, but once she saw that I was only a few hundred dollars away from my goal, she upped her donation and met my goal + $1. IT WAS OFFICIAL & not only that, I still had about 20 days left to raise funds!

- Johnny Jones of TYPE Media: Johnny, a good friend, HU Alum and fellow creator, was willing to come out to Greensboro with me and help document this project. Johnny not only helped grab footage, both behind the scenes and B Roll, but he was a very integral part of obtaining interviews and keeping good conversation going. I can honestly say the project would not be the same without him there. His assistance and creative eye was priceless.

- All of my backers: This project would not have been possible without the support from my friends, family and alum of varying HBCU’s. I was truly amazed by the support of this project from backers who who had NO affiliation to #NCAT. You all believed in me, my vision and this project. It was truly humbling and I cannot thank you enough. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to thank many people in person and I look forward to staying in touch with all of you.

Here is Episode One:

Log onto AlumniRoundup’s YouTube Channel to view more content

Wale brought the rest of the MMG team to VIA in Atlanta, GA during BET weekend to give a few people the first listen to his new album “Ambition” . New Album drops 11.1.11.

First and foremost let me say this…
“This ain’t no doctoral dissertation or no scholarly journal. I’m just gonna keep it real! And tell the story as an HBCU alumni would tell it.”

As a 2-Time Howard University Alumnus (1997, 2002) and a staunch “Bison for Life” I found myself in a very weird situation this weekend when called upon by one of the masterminds of the AlumniRoundup.com, Be Moore, to “cover” the Atlanta Football Classic.

There I was in a stadium with a sea full of Rattlers and Jaguars and I was one but of a few Bison in the arena. There was just shy of 60,000 fans in the building and the bands were playing and I could feel myself being tugged.

Should I… “root for FAMU and allow our Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ties and my love for the Marching 100 and my great relationship that I have with the Upsilon Psi Chapter Ques cause me to lean towards supporting FAMU?

Or….

Should I…”allow my ‘Rattler HATE’ (LOL) and my appreciation for Southern beating FAMU in 1996 early in the season which allowed us to beat them in the Heritage Bowl and and become the 1996 Black College National Champions and my love for the Beta Sigma bruzz cause me to lean for the Jags?

I had a decision to make.

And I chose… I’m with the MEAC for life!!!! FAMU it was!!

So, thanks to the good people at Alumni Roundup, I walk into the tunnel for access to the field and immediately to FAMU’s sideline. And in classic MEAC fashion its a party down there. There are execs from BET, Angie Stone, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Rashan Ali, AJ Calloway and many other folks.

The band was playing and we were jamming… but… FAM was losing (from now on I will refer to FAMU as FAM because that’s just how we say it. For example… “where did you go to school?” The reply is, “FAM.” LOL. All my HBCU folks know the deal).

So, FAM was losing and was down 19-17 with a couple of minutes to go in the half.

So I left the sidelines and decided to go up into the suites section of the stadium so I could watch the battle of the bands with a birds eye view. Because as quiet as it is kept, the stadium is the most packed when the bands are playing. (Side note: this is the complete opposite when watching games of predominately white colleges also known as PWCs or PWIs, where the “I” stands for institution, just in case you are intersted in doing some scholarly research).

And what do you know… I was in the stadium suites with Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (FAMU Alum), Dr. Bobby Jones, Emmanuel Lewis (Clark Atlanta Alum) and many representaitves from the 100 Black Men organization. It was a good vibe. So… I grabbed myself a plate of pulled pork, a scoop of potato salad and a diet coke and sat down to watch what I called a MASSACRE!!!

Southern’s band came out and played well. Their formations were sound. They were quite good, BUT (and that’s a big BUT) FAM’s band slaughtered them. The whole stadium was talking about it. It was a surprise to hear that on television they awarded the battle of the bands to the Jags. I was there and I’m teling you right now that such as NOT the case.

FAM had about 300 people in their band and they were tight and at the end of their show they got into formation and spelled out “SU SHUT UP” for Southern University Shut Up….the crowd roared!! It was spectacular and hilarous.

Now back to the game. I would love to tell you what happend but I was doing what is known as the “Black college walk”, also known as the “HBCU walk”, also known as “The Classic stroll.”

If you don’t know what this is… lemme explain. At Black college football games we go for the game and for the fellowship. More often than not when you don’t see people in the stands its because they are walking around the stadium. I could literally write a 30 page paper on this phenomenon, but I won’t get so deep today.

So for all of the 3rd and the majority of the 4th quarter, I was walking around the stadium, just looking. That’s all, just looking around, seeing what I could see. Just looking. LOL and looking and watching and……LOOKING!

And then I heard somebody say, “Ferg!”

I turned around and it was fellow Bison and Atlanta Attorney, Michelle Arrington. Michelle says, Ferg, you must come meet my dad!” So I walk into the suite meet Mr. Arrington (Clark Atlanta Unversity Alum) who is known in Atlanta as Judge Arrington and Michelle introduces me as “Dr. Rhadi Ferguson” and I’m beginning to love the fact that I attended an HBCU all over again.

Then I look up at the screen and FAM has the ball getting ready to score and the score is… 33-31 in Southern’s favor. FAM ends up scoring and then kicks off. The Jags are driving down the field and but the drive is stopped and FAM ends up winning the game 38-33. It was fantastic.

And then bands played on…

It was an awesome time. Next year I’m taking the kids. I LOVE Black College Football.

The vibe was cool and the music was great; I can’t wait until next year.

The Foreign Exchange:

The Cool Kids:

The Pharcyde:

City/State: District of Columbia

I chose to back this project because… I thought this was an awesome way to bring more attention to HBCU’s and how they are great instiutions to attend. I believe in the strength of HBCU’s and the quality of students that have graduated from one including myself

I hope this project … Will inspire others to help fulfill the dream of someone wanting to attend a HBCU

HBCU Affiliation: SUBR

Project(s) I am currently working on… I’m not working on a project, but I am one of the first backers for BCE Apparel which is also through Kickstarter. He is a SUBR alum. Please check him out and support!!!

See the KickStarter Project HERE

City/State: Las Vegas, NV

I chose to back this project because… First, I love the idea of us getting out our own stories, especially when they are positive stories. There are so many positive stories to be told in our communities, but if we wait for someone else to tell them, they’ll probably go untold. Second, I thought it was a great idea. Not only did I grow up watching A Different World, but I was fortunate enough to be a third generation college grad (Howard U to be exact). By the time I graduated from college, I had a pretty good idea of what college life was going to be like, especially at an HBCU. In many communities, there are still young people who may the first in their family to attend college, and high school counselors can only do so much. Going away to college, for both parents and students, can be a frightening time. Picking a school, moving, the financial aid process, these can all be unchartered territory. I love that this project can educate young people on what college life may be like, especially the first 48 hours, which can be the scariest.

I hope this project … will get the support it needs to be successful.

HBCU Affiliation: Howard University

Project(s) I am currently working on… the ramblings of a girl in Las Vegas who loves food: greedygirlinlasvegas.wordpress.com and finishing my Masters in Early Childhood Special Education.

See the KickStarter Project HERE

City/State: Atlanta, GA

I chose to back this project because… I believe in the HBCU experience. Unfortunately I didn’t start at an HBCU and I know the experience is different for freshmen. I think this project is a great chance to show the beginning of the HBCU experience. I love that Kaiya is coming across the country to attend North Carolina A&T.

I hope this project … Will reflect the true freshman HBCU experience – the good and the bad. All of which is worth it in my opinion. I also hope it will dispel some myths. Every HBCU isn’t like Hillman, Atlanta A&T (Drumline) or the portrayal we see in Stomp the Yard. It’s some of all those portrayals and then some. I just wish you were chronicling more than just the first 48 – I wish we could see the first year! Perhaps we can do a wrap up at the end of Kaiya’s first year.

HBCU Affiliation: North Carolina A&T Alum – class of 1994.

Project(s) I am currently working on... Nothing, unless you count entering the second year of my first marriage. As a late bloomer this has been an interesting and fulfilling ‘project’

See the KickStarter Project HERE

City/State: NY/NY

I choose to back the project because… the only thing I knew about HBCU’s is that my aunts went to Howard and all pledged. I ultimately ended up in school in Boston, partly due to the fact that it was easier to visit schools in the NE…and the belief my mother had that “if it is white, it must be right”.

I hope this project: will allow people (parents and students) to see HBCU’s in a more positive light….not just somewhere to party, pledge and wear heels to class.

See the KickStarter Project HERE