2021 film grad is a Television Academy directing fellow

Travis Stewart, of Durham, North Carolina, has been selected for the Television Academy Foundation’s prestigious 2021 Summer Fellows program. Stewart is one of just 50 students chosen from across the country by Television Academy members to participate in the program.  

Stewart is a 2021 graduate of UNCSA School of Filmmaking directing program. He will be a Directing Fellow through the Television Academy Foundation’s program this summer.

“The Television Academy’s acknowledgement of both my skills and accomplishments is incredibly humbling,” said Stewart. “My life has been full of trials and tribulations; refinement by fire if you will. I didn’t believe in myself for the longest time, never thinking I’d have a shot at directing. Yet here I am, accepted into the Television Academy Foundation’s Directing Fellowship.  To be chosen by television professionals means I must work to prove them right and one day, succeed.”

“I remember watching 'Lost' when it first aired and thinking television and films have finally joined together as one,” said Stewart.  “When those two worlds meet, storytelling reaches new and creative heights, and I want to be right there on the frontlines telling meaningful and powerful stories.”

Dale Pollock, interim dean of the School of Filmmaking, said, "The Television Academy Foundation summer fellowship is a tremendous honor for Travis and a terrific launch into the industry. It means that members of the Television Academy recognize Travis’s talent and the hard work he has put in with faculty mentors in the School of Filmmaking.”

Typically, the Television Academy Foundation’s annual internship program provides 50 internships at top Hollywood studios and production companies to college students nationwide every summer. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Television Academy Foundation has had to re-imagine its internship program this year offering the 50 students selected from across the country the chance to either intern remotely or enroll as a summer fellow.  

The Summer Fellows Program includes virtual one-on-one visits with professionals in a student’s field of study, online panels with leaders in the television industry, and customized seminars covering personal brand building and navigating the job market ahead.  Fellows also become life-long members of the Foundation’s alumni family giving them access to events and networking opportunities as they build their careers in the industry. 

About the Television Academy Foundation

Established in 1959 as the charitable arm of the Television Academy, the Television Academy Foundation is dedicated to preserving the legacy of television while educating and inspiring those who will shape its future. For more information on the Foundation, visit   TelevisionAcademy.com/Foundation.

Provided by the Television Academy Foundation

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