Dubbed the Hollywood of the South, Atlanta has a thriving arts and music scene. As James Young ’24 grew up there, he was surrounded by opportunities to participate in theater, music, and film.
His mentor, Cheryl Cardwell, taught him voice and piano. As she got to know his talents, she encouraged him to pursue acting, too.
“She inspired me to go to school for acting, so I attended Tri-Cities High School, a performing arts high school made up primarily of Black and Brown students,” he explains. “It was a place where we could have access to the arts in a way that others in the area didn’t.”
He continued down this path by studying musical theater at the University of Michigan and being part of on-stage performances. After graduation, he returned to Atlanta for a year before moving to New York City for two years to work at several regional houses and perform in off-Broadway shows, such as Titanique.
“While I was working on these projects, I noticed that the executive leadership teams often lacked people of color,” he explains, “so I never felt like I had an advocate. I didn’t know where to go if I felt like I had an issue I needed help with.”
That feeling of powerlessness made him consider the possibility of a master’s degree. His goal was to become the leader that other people of color in commercial theater could lean on and trust for support.
“A lot of companies don’t have that type of leader—or, if they do, the person is only there for a short period of time, so they can’t make much of an impact,” he says. “I was done complaining about this aspect of the entertainment industry and wanted to do something about it instead.”
Young knew about Northwestern’s MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises (MSLCE) because one of his closest friends had completed the program, and he decided it was the best way to move closer to achieving his own career goals.
While he entered the program knowing he would become an “artistic leader,” as he described it, he found something much more.
“The program plays to your leadership strengths and helps you discover where you want to land,” he says. “You can be an artistic leader. You can be an executive leader. You can lead a nonprofit. You have autonomy, but everyone works with you to groom and mold you for whatever you want to be. To me, this makes it much more valuable than a general business education.”
Regular meetings with the External Programs, Internships, and Career Services (EPICS) office help him narrow in on the new interests he uncovers in class so he can translate them to potential career opportunities, seek out internships in those fields, and even build résumés around them.
Young also appreciates the fact that what he’s learning is not only preparing him for his future, but also bringing valuable context to past work experiences.
For example, in Organizational Processes in Creative Enterprises, taught by Clinical Assistant Professor Allison Henry, Young is learning how decisions are made within arts organizations. This has helped him better understand the concept of gatekeeping (determining who belongs and who doesn’t), which he watched play out in the entertainment world in his former roles.
Associate Professor Rick Morris’ Arts and Entertainment Law and Ethics course was an eye-opening experience for Young, reminding him and his cohort that, at their core, creative industries are businesses. “They have rules and laws just like any other industry,” Young explains, “whether it’s fashion, music, acting, or production. Professor Morris found a way to engrain topics within the curriculum so that everyone felt represented. In educational spaces, you’re often taught from only one perspective or angle, but he makes it applicable to all.”
Young plans to use his leadership skills to serve as a general manager in a commercial theater setting, helping make positive improvements in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Once he’s made his mark on an existing theater, he then plans to establish roots in a major entertainment hub, open his own theater company, and operate under a unique mission and vision: to grant accessibility and bring resources to underrepresented communities.
“I want to plant those seeds within others as well, so they can take on that charge, and the industry sees change over time.”
Four reasons James chose an MSLCE over an MBA:
- To strengthen business and entrepreneurial skills through the lens of the creative industry.
- To learn about creative enterprises in real time as they evolve and change.
- To stand out in the industry with knowledge and capabilities that are tailored to a specific area of business: the creative industry.
- To understand how new technology is changing arts, theater, and music from a business standpoint.