Why did you want to study Writing?
I loved television when I was younger, and I grew to love the characters; I was determined to find a way to bring that same cherishment to others. There was an awe that every show was a different person’s reality that I got to witness. I would go so far as to imagine what I would have them do. Therefore, studying screenwriting was my only choice. I knew I needed to be part of developing these characters—that was in the script. The idea of taking images in my head and fleshing them out into fully realized characters in the world, with unique quirks and flaws, continues to bring me joy day in and day out. 

What have been your greatest successes and challenges at school so far?
I feel my greatest success so far has been nailing a roadmap of what I want to bring to the industry and being confident in it. When I came to USC, I refused to put my name and comedy writer in the same sentence. However, now, I will say it so loudly that everyone in the back will hear it. This came with faculty and staff pushing me to explore the origins of my sense of comedy and to explore other works. Now I’m extremely confident in my comedic voice, no matter the project. Whether it's a television series, feature film, or even a microdrama.  

Writing a spec for Mid-Century Modern had to be one of the most challenging things I’ve probably done in this lifetime. What intrigued me about this series was the cadence of the joke-telling, which proved to be the hardest thing about writing it. Then throw in writing in multi-cam format, every day I was fighting for my life. But, after countless hours of rewatching the show, rewriting jokes, and several table reads later, I learned there was a mechanics to telling jokes, and everyone does it differently. This script taught me the mechanics of my joke telling but also how to write and identify others’ joke-telling mechanics. 

What projects have you worked on that you’re proud of?
Sophomore year, I wrote my first feature film, which I still marvel at. It’s a queer romantic thriller set in Atlanta. This genre was way out of my comfort zone, but I knew I needed to tell the story. As I wrote the script week by week, I fell in love with it. Not only was I able to keep my sense of comedy and satire, but I did so without compromising the severity of the stakes for my characters. But I’m most proud that this story talks about my experience as a Black queer man dating in Atlanta, and all of my classmates were able to find a piece of my characters that felt drawn to (without the killing, of course). 

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about applying to SCA?
Cinema has been around for over 100 years, so what do you feel is missing, and ONLY you can add to its history? I will always tell people that the SCA Admissions Committee is looking for your story. Whether it is a fantastical world or a sitcom, inject your unique perspective of life into your application. No story is too crazy or not good enough. It’s all about what you feel is most authentic to your experience of life at the time. 

SCA will teach you everything about the form, the mechanics, and the nitty-gritty, but they want to know what story you are going to tell with all these tools. Let the committee fall in love with your story and not your stats.