Student poses for her head shot.

10 Austin area students participating in the E4 Youth Portfolio Contest  will be chaperoned by professionals from local advertising agency McGarrah Jessee  as they seek out mentors at the Austin ADDY Awards Thursday, February 9, 2012 6:30pm. These students along with more than 100 others throughout Austin are building professionally reviewed portfolios as they compete for summer jobs. “The contest is open to all Austin area students but we have specialized mentors at 2 area high schools (Reagan, Eastside Memorial)” says E4 Youth founder Carl Settles Jr.. “These professional mentors along with one on one volunteer mentors we hope to connect students with at the ADDYs, work to provide extra support for teachers and help students to develop quality portfolios”.

ADDY youth attendees will also be featured in ads placed around the space and in the program book.

About E4 Youth

E4 Youth is based on the guiding principles of Engagement, Education, Employment & Entrepreneurship for youth. An outgrowth of a partnership between the Media Communications Council (MCC) and the University of Texas Intellectual Entrepreneurship Consortium, E4 Youth fosters high achievement by building teams of business leaders, paid graduate and undergraduate mentors and youth that focus on capacity building enrichment projects that drive economic growth while solving real problems in the community.

Brief History

Over the past 3 years, the Media Communications Council (MCC) has taken a leadership role on the issues of diversity, education and empowerment in Central Texas. In addressing these issues, the MCC has developed a number of innovative approaches and programs including the social learning platform Media Xperiments, an annual E4 Youth Portfolio Contest, intensive college and career discovery camps called It Could Be Us and the annual E4 Youth Summit. Throughout the implementation of all of these activities, media and exposure to media related careers has played a key role in driving engagement and grass roots support from all parts of the community.

Now, having cemented relationships with the University of Texas at Austin and the Austin Independent School District among others to serve as partners, the MCC has a comprehensive media driven approach that addresses key educational pipeline issues not only for under-served students interested in media careers but virtually any career path. This approach, which we call E4 Youth, takes students through the sequence of Engagement, Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship as they explore careers, build portfolios and contribute to a culture of achievement. The MCC currently operates under the auspices of the Austin Community Foundation a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization.

Entrepreneurs Hajj Flemings, Hassan Johnson and Ashley.

The Capital City African American Chamber, in conjunction with the Media Communications Council, hosted a panel discussion called Innovate: Strategies for Building A Creative Media | Business November 16, 2011 at Austin Details Art & Photo. The event featured entrepreneurs Hajj Flemings (featured on CNN’s Black In America 4), Hassan Johnson – Tha Trunk Inc and Gina McCauley – Blogging While Brown Conference offering their perspectives on what it takes to make viable creative media businesses.

The panel was moderated by Natalie Madeira Cofield – President, Capital City African American Chamber. Hajj and Hassan joined the panel via Skype. The following are some highlights from the event.  Click the links below to listen!

Building Your Media Biz -_Hajj Flemings

Building Your Media Biz – Gina McCauley

Building Your Media Biz – ThaTrunk

Building Your Media Biz – Black to the Future

Building Your Media Biz – On-line Dos and Don’ts