| Spring 2026 Grad Spotlight |
When Florida A&M University (FAMU) announced its $4.75 million National Institutes of Health HIV Prevention Project with Duke University this year, spring 2026 journalism graduate Kazon Allen was the writer the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health entrusted to tell the story.
Producing and publishing multimedia content on health, science, and research is a challenge for any professional. But before even completing his college degree, Allen leveraged his communications internship at the pharmacy and public health program to demonstrate his ability to report on complex issues in a way that impacts readers and meets them where they are.
But it’s not just his academic achievements as an honor student or the skills he’s learned as a scholar in the FAMU School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (FAMU SJGC) that positioned Allen to excel at this style of storytelling — it was his compassion. Since childhood, he has always felt the call to ensure people of all walks of life feel supported and seen.
A Miami native who transferred to FAMU from Miami Dade College, Allen’s trajectory as a storyteller is rooted in advocacy and empowerment. He chose a media track at his magnet school, Miami Lakes Educational Center, as a teenager because, as he put it, “Growing up, I didn’t really see a lot of people that reflected what and who I am in the media, so I want to be someone who can help other people who are just like me.”
“Whenever people ask me why I chose journalism, my response is that I enjoy the work. I enjoy sharing stories of people whose voices cannot be heard, or not heard enough,” Allen said.
Originally placed as an intern at the pharmacy and public health program last summer after being selected for the FAMU Career Explorers and Bank of America Foundation Jobs Initiative, Allen continued to be called upon by the college to help tell some of its most groundbreaking research impact stories throughout his senior year. The research community valued the care he put into every word he wrote, every publication he prepared, every podcast he hosted, and every social media post he made.
“Kazon Allen stands as a testament to what purpose looks like in motion. His passion for storytelling has never been about shining a light on himself, but about illuminating the truths that matter — the health research that can save lives, the community issues too often overlooked, and the voices of underserved people who deserve to be heard with dignity and care,” said Ola S. Sheffield, Ph.D., his mentor and internship manager, who serves as the pharmacy college communicator and scientific editor, and is a FAMU SJGC alumna.
As he navigated his college experience, his interest in developing content that brought visibility to causes and issues affecting the community was growing each day. A major contributor to that interest came from watching two siblings and his mother navigate life‑altering health conditions, as well as managing his own mental and physical health. He was also inspired by watching his mother work as a case manager for HIV patients.
He lost one of his sisters, Tyra Carter, to a battle with sickle cell anemia when his college journey began, and just weeks before receiving his bachelor’s degree, his mother, Yolanda Jackson, who was also a proud Rattler, passed away. Both losses could have been setbacks for Allen. Instead, he says he saw them as a push to keep going and keep smiling so he could be a light for others facing hardship — so that his life could be a testimony of “no matter what, don’t give up,” and an opportunity to honor them through telling stories that matter and that can help others.
“Even while carrying the weight of profound personal loss, including the passing of his mother this Spring 2026 semester, he continued to rise with grace, grit, and an unwavering commitment to his craft. He is living proof that storytelling can heal, transform, and guide us through even the darkest seasons,” said Sheffield.
It was Sheffield who submitted a recommendation that helped Allen earn a fellowship he is embarking on post‑graduation. In just a few weeks, he will begin his rotation as a Fulcrum Journalism Fellow, participating in a 10‑week summer program designed to train the next generation of journalists in solutions‑focused reporting and narrative complexity. Fellows receive mentorship from The Fulcrum’s civic media platform editorial team, opportunities to publish original reporting, and “training in producing stories with accuracy, empathy, and depth.”
The fellowship embodies Allen’s hopes for his future in storytelling and feels like something he has been preparing for his entire life.
He takes with him to the program what he’s learned from the faculty and staff at both SJGC and the College of Pharmacy, as well as the hands‑on experience he gained as a writer for the student media platform Journey Magazine, a social media content creator for Take Stock in Children of Florida and various student organizations, a campus voter registration drive and civic engagement campaign volunteer, secretary of the campus Transfer Student Association, and service chair for the Tau Sigma academic honor society.
“I want to be the voice for the voiceless,” he said. “For all people, but especially for the African American, LGBTQIA+, and disabled communities, because their stories often go untold.”
If there’s one lesson or inspiration people can take from Allen’s path, he says it is to remember that “Life experience can shape you into what your calling is.”
Gallery
Kazon Allen ensured his internship experiences focused on community and solutions-based storytelling. He is pictured with fellow interns in the Strike Forward Career Explorers Program, his College of Pharmacy internship supervisor Ola Sheffield, Ph.D., and his program director Doris Roundtree, Ph.D.
