Baton Rouge Community College faculty member and alumnus Shea Stephens has been selected to receive the 2025 Alex Trebek Legacy Fellowship by the Television Academy Foundation in Hollywood.
Stephens, who teaches film at BRCC, is one of 18 faculty members chosen to receive the award this year. The Fellowship provides financial support for educators to attend the Television Academy Foundation’s annual Media Educators Conference. The conference will be held later this month at the Television Academy in North Hollywood.
Created by the Harry and Judy Friedman Family Foundation, the Fellowship honors the late “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek.
The Television Academy Foundation works to preserve and celebrate the history of television while educating and inspiring the next generation of storytellers. The Foundation supports the Television Academy, the only major organization devoted to the television and broadband screen entertainment industry. The Television Academy is made up of over 26,000 members, including performers, directors, producers, technicians and executives. The Television Academy is the organization that presents the Emmy Awards each year.
Along with his teaching role at BRCC, Stephens is also an accomplished filmmaker, with work primarily focusing on Black Southern life. His films have been shown at major festivals, including the Atlanta Black Film Festival, the Pan African Film Festival, and the International Gullah Film Festival, among others.
“I am honored to have been selected for this Fellowship from among so many outstanding film and television educators around the country,” Stephens said. “I’m looking forward to attending the conference in Hollywood and bringing back new inspiration and ideas for my film students at BRCC. This is a learning opportunity not only for me as a faculty member and a film professional, but for my current and future students as well.”
Stephens attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, graduated from BRCC with an associate’s degree in 2010, holds a bachelor’s degree in theater from LSU, a master of arts in film and television from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and a master of fine arts in theater arts from the University of Idaho. He has been a faculty member at BRCC for nearly two years.
