Today we’d like to introduce you to Carla McCullough.
Hi Carla, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, Illinois. After finishing Mother McAuley High School I wanted to continue my single-gender education experience and I was blessed to get into Spelman College in Atlanta. My experiences at these phenomenal schools really shaped the woman that I am today as I was able to train in leadership and theater at both institutions.
Mother McAuley is a unique school because they truly allowed students to take ownership of their education. I went in with a love for politics and the arts and from freshman year I was able to select classes that fueled those passions. It was at McAuley that I began writing and directing plays, while also serving on the Student Council.
Spelman College provided the perfect pathway to continue honing my skills in these two areas. I was able to double major in Drama and Political Science. In the Drama Department, I trained under phenomenal professors and with students from Morehouse and Spelman, many of whom are now well-known individuals in entertainment. There was a lot of talent in the Baldwin Burroughs Theater.
My love for writing and directing led me to Los Angeles after graduation to pursue a career in film and television. Because I had never been to Los Angeles my mother suggested that I get a job before moving to a city sight unseen. After a visit in my political science class from a Spelman Alumna who was participating in Teach for America, I decided to apply to the program. I was accepted and got my first choice of being a 6th-grade teacher in Los Angeles.
At the time my teaching experience was limited to Sunday School at my local church in Chicago, but with the training and support of TFA and Loyola Marymount University, I fell in love with the profession and the students. My initial two-year commitment turned into nearly two decades where I was able to take on various educational leadership positions and continue to fuel my artistic passions. All of these experiences laid the foundation for where I am today.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t know that anyone experiences a smooth road on the journey to fulfilling their purpose in life. There have definitely been some challenges but I firmly believe that all things work together for your good, so even the experiences that have been challenging have helped me to grow.
One of the more recent challenges has been the learning curve of making a film that I wrote and will direct, as a first-time filmmaker. I am beyond thankful for my village as teamwork truly does make a dream work. I’ve had the opportunity to study and hone my skills and I have a great team of supporters and mentors who have helped by lending their expertise where needed.
I could fill multiple pages with thank you’s to individuals for their support, so I’d like to encourage readers to check out our website and social media pages to learn a bit more about our team, our supporters, and the progress that we’ve made since we began in 2022. We are also still fundraising so feel free to make a tax-deductible donation at https://acollegereunion.com/donate-now.
Because I haven’t publicly acknowledged them anywhere I would like to give a special shout-out to the members of the Free Spirits Book Club and to my Writers Group. I’ve been with both groups for years and they have been especially helpful as we work to get our film project off the ground. I’d also like to thank Jordan Roberts and Larry Clark for sharing their independent filmmaking experiences. The advice has been invaluable.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am currently working on an independent feature film, entitled College Reunion. The film brings together my passion for education and the arts. The fictional story follows three women as they reconnect for their 45th HBCU College Reunion. Within the film, we uplift Black women, specifically those who are 60+ and put a spotlight on the HBCU community of schools.
College Reunion is more than your ordinary movie. The mission behind the film is to create a movie (and movement) that changes the world by uplifting underserved communities to spark social change. To further break this down, education is the thing that will change the world and one of the underserved communities that we are uplifting is students in K-12, especially black students. Our production team believes that we can use the marketing for the film and the power of our network to uncover challenges in K-12 education and create collective solutions so that all students can eventually attend their own college reunion.
We began work on the movement portion of College Reunion on August 28, 2022 with our Sunday Brunch launch event. The reason that we are activating the movement even before College Reunion begins production is because there are several specific challenges facing the Black community that impede our ability to successfully get to and through college. We want to bring a spotlight to these challenges and potential solutions.
The first challenge we are addressing is Chronic Absenteeism which is defined as being absent from school for 15 or more days throughout the school year. The data across the country is staggering on this issue, especially amongst Black students. It’s what we call a village-level problem and has a direct effect on the post-secondary plans of today’s youth.
When College Reunion is in theaters, ideally by the end of this year, we want black youth in particular to see reflections of themselves on the screen and to imagine what path their college experience will take. Since we have several educators on our film team, we are uniquely aware that college graduations and reunions are impossible if students are not attending K-12. Keeping our mission in mind, College Reunion is truly more than a movie, it’s a movement that we can all get behind.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
This is a great question. Regarding finding a mentor I would say the first step is to get clear on your personal core values and professional goals. These two things combined will help you to better discern the type of mentor that might be needed in the current stage of your life or career.
It’s ironic that a part of this question is about networking. As a first-time filmmaker, there is no way College Reunion would be as far as it is without the power of my professional and personal network. In my opinion, the best and first place that we network is in school.
I still talk to classmates from middle school, high school, and of course college. It was extremely important to befriend like-minded individuals at those stages of my educational journey. At the time I thought I was merely making friends. In hindsight, I am able to see the impact that your friend circle can have on mental and emotional well-being and on things like career trajectory. So that’s a long-winded way of saying choose your friends wisely.
I’d also say, always be authentic and nice. You catch many more flies with honey than you do with vinegar and there is rarely a situation where being even a little mean or unfriendly has a positive effect on you or the other people involved. Finally like attracts like, so if you’re not where you want to be personally or professionally, the first thing to do is check your circle. Surrounding yourself with core value-aligned individuals and those that are more knowledgeable than you will make you better.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.acollegereunion.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acollegereunion/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aCollegeReunion
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collegereunion/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CollegeReunion
Image Credits
Movie Poster and 1 pager (gray document) Ithan Payne of https://ithanpaynecreative.com/ Dr. Carla McCullough receiving Doctorate in Educational Leadership
