Building a Bridge: USC Annenberg professor visits Xavier as mass communication pipeline grows 

By: Zaria Fenderson, Contributing Writer

September 25, 2026

The road after graduation can take Xavier University of Louisiana’s mass communication students far beyond New Orleans. In the last three years, several students from Xavier’s Mass Communication department have been admitted to master’s programs at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in Los Angeles.

On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Miki Turner, a professor of professional practice at USC Annenberg and an award-winning journalist, author and producer, visited Xavier’s mass communication department to talk to students about the opportunity to study at USC after graduating from Xavier.

“When I first got to USC, I went to the dean of admissions and said, ‘Hey, can I go recruit at HBCUs?’ I thought she was going to say no. She said, ‘Of course, I’d love that,’” Turner said.

“So, I have been doing this for close to 13 years now, and nothing gives me greater pleasure than to see them come and see them thrive and shine. You know, I feel this is a part of my assignment here on earth,” she added.

After meeting Turner as a sophomore during a joint Xavier and USC research trip to Accra, Ghana, Brier Evans, a Xavier alumna and USC Annenberg graduate, became one of three students to pursue USC Annenberg after her senior year at Xavier.

“What I valued about my former [Xavier] professors was how they worked with us and advocated for us. For USC, there was never a thought about whether or not I felt prepared. I was prepared. I was confident in what I had learned during my time at Xavier,” Evans said.

Dr. Nia Mason, department head of Mass Communication and associate professor, organized the event as part of an ongoing initiative to connect Xavier’s mass communication majors with prestigious journalism and graduate school opportunities.

During the discussion, she went through the application process and scholarship opportunities available and explained the type of portfolio work that catches the attention of the admissions committee.

For Xavier students, conversations about graduate school can be extremely important as many begin thinking about what comes next after graduation.

Several students, including Ja’lyn Jones, a senior mass communication major with double minors in sociology and music from Holly Springs, Mississippi, said the visit helped him understand what is possible after his time at Xavier.

“The conversation with Turner both broadened and elevated my perspective toward preparing for grad school,” Jones said.

“Learning about USC Annenberg, I was truly impressed by the diversity in not only the students and staff, but also the skill set and mindset each one possessed, while still feeding into the same institutional purpose [for HBCU students],” he added.

Turner has been involved in sports journalism and media for many years before taking a position in academics at USC. She wanted to make sure her time at Xavier was not only an opportunity for students to learn about higher education, but also about what it takes to continue developing as emerging communication professionals after earning their undergraduate degrees.

She also addressed a question specific to Xavier’s students: what it means to come from a historically Black college or university (HBCU) into a program like Annenberg.

“As a graduate of Hampton [University], I did not have this experience, so it means everything to me. The best thing about USC is that network. It doesn’t matter who you are. They got you,” Turner said.

By talking to professionals such as Turner, students can learn more about how to obtain and succeed in experiences that can help them become stronger candidates.

“I’m so grateful that there are people like Miki who are recognizing the talents that are being fostered in our HBCUs. [Those] who are seeing the gaps in their own academic spaces and are looking to place more and more of our students into these pipelines. My time at both institutions was invaluable,” Evans said.