Alumni Focus
The Legacy of Sekou Smith Lives On By Kelsei Scott
Clement Gibson, a 2019 Jackson State University alumnus, gained real-world experience thanks to the 2021 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. For two weeks last August, Gibson edited press releases, worked alongside a social media manager and edited film, to name just some of the tasks that were part of the Sekou Smith Hawks Summer League Experience. “I got a chance to write a story about Skylar Mays, who plays for the Atlanta Hawks, that got published on NBA.com,” Gibson said. “That was cool getting my first authored published work.” Gibson was the first recipient of the internship that the Atlanta Hawks set up in memory of Sekou Smith, a JSU alumnus and longtime NBA.com reporter and television analyst who died Jan. 26, 2021 from COVID-19. The internship was open to journalism, broadcast or multi-media students from a Southwestern Athletic Conference university or college and provided for the cost of travel to Las Vegas as well as hotel, meals and incidentals. Born in West Africa and calling Minneapolis, Minnesota home, Gibson earned an associate degree from North Country Community College and another from Long Beach City College before attending JSU, where he earned a bachelor’s in mass communication with a focus on journalism. Enrolled in a master’s program at Columbia University, Gibson applied for the internship after a friend suggested it. He soon realized he shared several things in common with Smith. While at JSU, Gibson and several other students helped start an NBA podcast. “I remember trying to reach out to Sekou Smith so he could listen knowing he is a Jackson State alum, knowing he loves the NBA,” he said. “We were really trying to get it out to him so he could listen or maybe share it.”
During the internship, Gibson discovered additional similarities he shared with Smith. “I learned that he learned about JSU from an HBCU tour as well and that he came from a community college like myself, studied journalism at JSU like myself and was an editor-in-chief,” he said. “We walked very similar paths. When I found all of that out, it felt like it was meant to be.” Time management proved critical during the internship because of the full experience it offered, and the fact that Gibson was completing his master’s program at the time. “I was waking up earlier and staying up longer,” he said. “I still had to go do the internship all day and come back and study, take final exams and
do presentations.” Gibson is now focused in the short term on growing his video producing and writing skills and in the long-term looks for opportunities to give back to the institutions that helped develop his talents. “I know how hard it is being a community college student and then going from a community college to an HBCU and then to the Ivy League,” he said. “It was a hard, long journey. I definitely want to give back resources to make it easier for the next person, who travels a similar path.”
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