The inaugural class of Roc Nation and Long Island University (LIU) Brooklyn's joint collegiate program will graduate Spring 2025.

JAY-Z's global entertainment company and LIU partnered in 2020 to launch the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment in Brooklyn. In 2021, the first cohort of students enrolled to begin their educational journey in a culture-driven learning space that offers six academic programs: Bachelor of Arts in Applied Music, Bachelor of Arts in Sports Communication & Marketing, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Technology, Entrepreneurship and Production, Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, Bachelor of Science in Sports Management, and a Master of Science in Sports Management.

REVOLT sat down with Cooper Albers, a student, and Tajay Ashmeade, a strategic sports management professor, to learn more about the student experience, curriculum, and the pioneering class of 2025.

As mentioned on the institution's website, the school prides itself on delivering a "world-class education, exceptional career development, cultural initiatives, and philanthropic endeavors." Faculty members with industry‑leading professional and life experiences are essential in making this promise true. The teaching staff includes employees of ESPN, BET, the Oscars, ESSENCE, lawyers who represent NBA players, producers who've worked with Kendrick Lamar, award-winning vocalists, and so much more.

"I think someone said, 'Have you met JAY-Z?’ And my response is, ‘Yes, we have.' Not in the literal, not in the physical, but his presence of what he's built in sports, entertainment, and music is here," Ashmeade told REVOLT. "You're learning from some of the top professors in sports, music, and entertainment at the Roc Nation School. That's the same thing. When you're at any type of Roc Nation-affiliated company, you're learning from the best."

"It's kind of like they're living out their internship in real-time. They didn't have to apply for an internship," she added. "And that's what makes the school so amazing. You get to walk around and feel what JAY-Z and his team and what our faculty was able to cultivate and build at LIU to really, really push the next generation of music, sports, and entertainment."

The educator, a Jamaican-born immigrant, survivor of violence, former Olympic qualifier, retired professional women's basketball player, and PhD candidate, shared how her journey shapes her teaching methods.

"I am one of the students," she professed. "I am the students that I am teaching. I grew up in the Bronx, New York. I always say I'm a Jamaican-born hustler from the Bronx, New York. So, I was born in Jamaica, and I came to the States. I'm fortunate that sports changed my life. It kind of goes back to what Nelson Mandela has said many times over: Sports have the power to shift the world, to heal the world, to solve political outcomes, and to bring people together." Ashmeade regards her title as a "professor" as a mark of great honor and responsibility. "You're building, formulating, amplifying, and impacting the next generation of sports industry professionals," the former athlete explained. "I really try to give them the overall view of sport. Right from me as the player, from me as the operations manager, from me as the equipment manager, from me as the academic, I really try to lean into that space of being the player, the academic, and the professional. Taking the leap is something that I found years ago through just seeing how athletes, particularly, needed to know how to manage their lives after the sport."

She continued. "I've been fortunate to work with schools like Seton Hall [University], Howard University, Notre Dame, and these schools on their women's sports side on how to help." With Ashmeade's oldest student, 56, and high school learners tapping into the department's resources ahead of time, Ashmeade sees the school’s multigenerational reach as clear evidence of its growing impact.

"What other program will you ever see that age range, that age gap, and that success level in music, sports, and entertainment?... When someone asks us the question, 'How are they landing these opportunities?' It is our staff, it is the name, the leverage, the power, and the support," she exclaimed. "It is our ambition to see them grow. It is our partnership team, and it is the will of the person at the school. All that to say, it is the experience that they get in the classroom."

Albers, who earned his degree in the sports communication & marketing program, attended LIU because he felt that attending Roc Nation's division would set him up for success and be a "rewarding" experience. After his experience, he knows he made the right decision and said it’s "been a dream come true."

The Salt Lake City native started his collegiate education in the applied music arm but transitioned after having the chance to be in the field, which helped him find his passion.

"I would say active," he shared as the word he would pick to sum up his time at LIU. "I think that the school has given so much hands-on experience in a lot of different facets to where I've really been able to explore quite a few different pathways, whether it be from writing or broadcasting. The school really preaches hands-on experience and experiential learning."

The scholar greatly admires the innovative, out of classroom learning techniques.

"I think that what I've liked about a lot of my courses is it's not the typical, 'Here's the study guide. Here's the packet. Go study. We're going to take a test,'" he noted. "Last year, just drawing from experience. My final for my sports broadcasting and media class, we didn't take a test. We went out and broadcast an LIU softball game. We went out and did that. So, just the professors, the curriculum really emphasizes learning through doing. I think that has definitely been the biggest thing. It's pushed me to grow beyond what I thought was possible, like it has with a lot of other [students]."

An eye-opening moment for Albers happened when his sports writing professor showed him his capabilities.

"He was the writing professor, and then he was formerly the broadcasting director... He helped me discover that love for sports writing, and he really pushed me to just become a more well-rounded professional in the writing and broadcasting realm," he shared. "I came to him as kind of someone who just liked writing about sports and then towards the end of last semester, I was the lead sideline reporter for LIU basketball. Those games were on ESPN+."

During his studies, he was the chief sports editor at the Seawanhaka Long Island University News and a broadcast operation assistant & LIU broadcast analyst at Long Island University athletics while landing internships as a contributing writer at Empire Sports Media, communications fellow at Miller Sports + Entertainment, and editorial trainee at EDITION by Modern Luxury.

Albers also appreciates the community he's been able to build as part of the pioneering class.

"I think it's awesome that it's a really tight-knit group. I really like that. A lot of our classes have very intimate settings. They're not these big lecture halls. It's a lot of discussion-based lectures with not that many people," he observed. "The student-to-professor ratio is pretty small, so it allows for that intimate setting where you're able to get personal feedback. You're able to establish that relationship with your classmates who you're seeing multiple times either in a day or the week."

Reflecting on the journey of her 2025 graduates, Ashmeade offered this heartfelt insight: "You have to earn your space. You have to earn a seat at the table, so for me to watch them earn every single seat at the table and then to watch them walk across the stage makes me proud as their professor. They call me Aunt Viv from ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’ I think it's more so because they know that I'm beyond proud because we're family. You've been family when you're at the Roc Nation school and you’re family when you leave, so it's like they're leaving the nest, you know, and it's something that is going to bring a tear or two to my eyes."